island of red flowers
by Sir Mocha
Summary: A chance event at the hospital leaves Kaiba the caretaker of an orphan, and he must work with Serenity to care for the baby girl. After losing his brother and his company, will this baby... and Serenity... help him find happiness again?
1. p a i n

Originally posted: 3/24/04  
Reposted: 6/11/05

Note:  
This story was originally titled turmoil, by Seaoknarnar (my old penname). However, I felt that that particular title was not an accurate indicator of the story, and what I intended the story to be. After revising the story, I felt it needed a new, unique title. The text of the story is still the same, with one or two small changes, rewording, etc.

For now, I only have the first few chapters edited, so please bear with me. Hopefully, before long, I will have completely converted the utter "turmoil" (haha, lame joke…) of the old chapters into new, happier (well, not HAPPY) ones.

Disclaimer (for the entire story):  
Sir Mocha does not own Yu-Gi-Oh, the canon characters, events, or places detailed in the show or manga. However, any original characters, places, and the plot are property of Sir Mocha and may not be used without permission.

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island of red flowers

-V-

by sir mocha

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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PART 1: TO CRY THESE TEARS

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chapter 01: p a i n

"Seto! Seto! Watch me climb this tree!" yelled Mokuba exuberantly to his older brother. The young boy's long black hair streamed behind him as he ran to a nearby old oak tree. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday, and a rare day off for Seto Kaiba, president and CEO of Kaiba Corporations, who was usually too absorbed in work to take a personal day. But Mokuba had insisted, and Seto had a soft spot that caused him to make certain (occasional) allowances for his younger brother. Today, over breakfast, Mokuba had expressed his wish to play in the park. Seto had fallen victim to Mokuba's devious use of puppy-eyes, and before long found himself being dragged by his brother to the nearby Domino City Park.

Seto now turned towards Mokuba, arms crossed, white trench coat flaring out behind him. To the casual observer, he appeared to be a surly young man, staring moodily, but in reality his eyes held a glimmer of joy too often absent in his stern demeanor. He even allowed a small smile to grace his face; a real smile, not an arrogant smirk. The kind of smile he reserved only for Mokuba.

His prudent side took over shortly. "Mokuba!" he ordered. "Get down from there right now." Mokuba was at the top of the tree, perched precariously on the uppermost branch. He suddenly pitched forward with a little squeak, and Seto sprinted, ready to catch his younger brother. But Mokuba caught himself adeptly, and laughed. "I tricked you!" he said gleefully. "You _know_ I have better balance than _that_!" He then proceeded to scramble down the tree trunk, and was safely on the ground before Seto's panicked brain could register it.

Once his brain caught up with Mokuba's antics, he stalked over and said very quietly, yet angrily, "Do NOT do that! What if you _really_ fell, and I thought you were just playing? You would be DEAD before I could do anything about it! You can not act irresponsibly like this anymore, Mokuba. You're getting too old."

Mokuba's lower lip jutted forward. "I'm sorry Seto. I was just playing a joke… you used to laugh all the time when I did stupid stuff. You used to be so happy… but now you're just worried about me all the time." He sighed. "I won't do it again, I promise." He hung his head in shame.

Seto felt like a jerk for making his brother look so forlorn. He knelt down, and put a finger under Mokuba's chin, and raised Mokuba's face enough to be able to look him in the eyes. Such a gesture of compassion was foreign to most who knew the callous nature of the CEO, but actions like these were common between the brothers. Seto's sapphire eyes locked on Mokuba's large dark grey ones, and he said in a caring tone, "I'm just worried about you; you're all I have left in this world, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Seto stood, but kept his eyes locked with Mokuba's. Mokuba looked up at his tall brother, and spoke with honesty. "I wish you would spend more time with me. You're always so busy, locked away in your office, typing at your computer. I know you have Kaiba Corp to run and all, but aren't there other people who could run it for you for a while?"

Seto sighed. "I wish there _were_ other people, Mokuba, but I'm the only one I trust to run the company. And after all the trouble I had with Industrial Illusions, and the Big Five, I'm not about to tell someone else how to do my job. I can't trust anyone else."

"Except me!" chirped Mokuba, impervious to his brother's pessimism. "You'll tell me, right Seto?"

"When you're older. But you're already running _some_ of the aspects of the company. Isn't that enough?" He smiled at Mokuba's indignant shake of his head. "We can stand here all day, discussing this, but wouldn't you rather get some _ice cream_ instead?"

"Yeah!" said Mokuba excitedly, running ahead towards the nearby ice cream stand. Seto smiled at the eagerness Mokuba employed in every facet of his life. _But of course, that's why I work so hard. I want Mokuba to enjoy a childhood I never had. _ Seto sighed, remembering the cruel and inhumane way his fanatical stepfather Gozaburo had treated him, chaining him to his desk and forcing him to study until he collapsed from exhaustion. And even then, Mokuba had been there for him, with a smile and a laugh, making his otherwise-harsh existence something he could occasionally enjoy, and giving him something to live for. _Where would I be without him?_ Seto thought, watching his brother fondly.

His reminiscing was cut short, however, as a shot rang out, pervading the tranquillity of the afternoon. Seto yelled in pain and grabbed his upper right arm as the bullet from the shot penetrated to what felt like the bone. He fell to his knees, too pained to stay on his feet. An excruciating pain followed as he pulled his hand away, and, dazed, observed that it was dripping blood. A puddle was forming on the ground beneath his arm.

Mokuba turned as soon as he heard the shot. He watched, horrified, as Seto fell to his knees, his hand on his arm, blood cascading down his side, stark in contrast to the white trench coat.

An agonized yell tore from the younger's throat. "SETO!" He ran quickly to his brother's side, his eyes flooding with tears. "Seto! Please don't die! _Please_! I need you!" he sobbed.

Seto, in much pain, managed to gasp out, "It's- just- my arm. The bullet- splintered- the bone." He winced, clenching his jaw to prevent from yelling.

The second shot rang out unexpectedly, catching the two brothers by surprise. It seemed to Seto that everything happened in slow motion; he looked up to see Mokuba falling to the ground with a shocked look on his young tearstained face. He hit the ground and lay there, unmoving, as blood pooled under him.

Seto just stared for a minute, and then he said, "Mokuba?" in a terrified whisper. "MOKUBA!" he yelled, bending over his brother, searching frantically for any sign of life. He was relieved at first to see Mokuba's chest moving slowly up and down, but then he started to panic at the sight of the bullet hole that gushed blood. "Oh god…," he yelled, "Oh GOD Mokuba, don't die. GOD DAMMIT, YOU CAN'T DIE ON ME!"

"SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE!" he yelled out frantically to anyone who might be listening. "My brother might be…" he couldn't finish the sentence; his brain would not allow him to think along those lines.

A third, different-sounding shot rang out, but Seto was oblivious to it; his entire world was crashing down on him at this moment, and no little gunshot would make a difference now. A muffled yell sounded, followed by what was evidently a body hitting the concrete path.

The ice cream vendor, a kind-hearted elderly man, hurried over, carrying with him a smoking pistol. "Now you just calm down," he told a hysterical Seto. "I've already called for an ambulance, and it's on its way. And I got him who was shooting at you. He won't be shooting no more," he said, indicating the body lying not far from where Seto knelt. "Just be calm, and the ambulance will be here soon." He got from his cart a roll of paper towels, and proceeded to try to give Seto a clumsy bandage; there was nothing he could do for Mokuba, and he did not want to risk moving the boy for fear of injuring him further. So Mokuba lay, sprawled on the ground, while the ice cream man watched for the ambulance.

Seto had been shot in the arm, but he could have sworn it was his heart that had been pierced by the bullet. The thing that meant most to him in the world, his little brother, lay bleeding to death on the dirt path, and there was not a damn thing that he could do about it. The pain of this helplessness was agonizing to the CEO.

He would not allow the tears to fall from his eyes; a lifetime of developing emotional calluses now meant that he could not shed tears even though he so desperately wanted to; to cry would be to release all the pent-up misery building inside him. Gozaburo had told him long ago that tears were a sign of emotion, and emotion was a sign of weakness that could be too easily exploited. Seto had lived by this code, and had never let anyone see him cry. Now, no tears were present to betray how emotionally vulnerable he felt, and that, to him, felt like his biggest weakness of all.

Several minutes later, the flashing red and white lights and the mournful wail of the ambulance's siren announced its arrival. Accompanying it were several Domino police cars, called out to investigate the crime scene, as the yellow tape being put up so harshly described it. Seto and Mokuba were quickly taken into the ambulance, while the ice cream man explained to the police what had occured. Then the ambulance careened away, making haste to the closest hospital.

It was a short distance to that hospital, but to Seto it felt like miles and miles. Upon arriving at the large white building, Seto, though very dizzy from blood loss, was able to dredge up a vestige of his Kaiba arrogance as he said, "I demand to be kept with my brother. It is my responsibility to take care of him."

One of the medical technicians replied in a reassuring tone, "We'll see what we can do," and injected Seto with a tranquilizer, rendering him unconscious.

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V


	2. w a i t i n g

Originally posted: 3-27-04  
Edited: 2-3-06

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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island of red flowers

-V-

by sir mocha

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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chapter 02: w a i t i n g

Kaiba opened his eyes and stared, confused, at the white ceiling above that was _not_ the canopy of his four-poster bed. He turned his head, and verified that this room was _not_ his bedroom in the Kaiba mansion. _His_ bedroom was done in somber colors, resplendent with velvet and tapestries. _This_ room was a white room, and the few decorations scattered through it could little mask the cold and austere atmosphere.

Kaiba's mind rid itself of its last traces of sleepy bemusement, and as the sleep barriers fell, the memories rushed in. His mind was inundated with memories: of blood, and screams, and gunshots, and pain. He shut his eyes, trying to block them out of his head, but the images only intensified. Questions invaded his mind: _Where am I? Where is Mokuba? Is Mokuba ok? Is Mokuba… alive?_

He couldn't just laze around in bed, waiting for someone to come in and answer his questions; he was Seto Kaiba, president and CEO of Kaiba Corp, and he would go immediately to get the knowledge he sought, about his brother's condition.

He attempted to lever himself up out of bed with his right arm, but winced when pain shot through it. He looked down to see a white cast going all the way from his shoulder to wrist. In the back of his self-centered mind, he registered that _someone_ (who would soon be in very big trouble) had taken his trench coat and black buckles, and had put him in a very undignified hospital gown.

Using his good arm, he pushed himself heavily out of the bed. He was momentarily blinded and dizzy as all the blood rushed from his head, but once his vision cleared, he got stiffly out of the bed. A sharp pain jerked in his arm as he pulled on the IV connected to it. Not one to be squeamish, he pulled the IV from his arm, and left it dripping as he got out of the bed. The room seemed to wobble around him, and he dimly wondered what drugs and painkillers they had pumped into him while he was unconscious. He then staggered towards the door, lacking the usual fluid grace with which he moved.

_Where is Mokuba?_ he again wondered. He wanted to know the answer, yes, but he also dreaded learning what that answer was. _It would be awful to find your brother as a stiff in a body bag, wouldn't it?_ asked the little voice in his mind, which loved to torment him to no end.

_Mokuba is not dead. He can't be,_ replied Kaiba. He inched his way across the linoleum floor, his dexterity inhibited by the drugs in him, and when he finally reached the door, he considered it quite an accomplishment. He reached out a shaking hand, and slowly lowered it until he made contact with the handle. Gently, fearfully, he turned the handle.

It was locked.

Frantically, Seto tried again and again to open the unyielding door, his motions becoming more and more violent. But no matter how he fought with the door handle, it refused to open. Finally, seeing that all his efforts were futile, he decided to change his approach. He started banging with his good fist on the door, yelling, "Let me out! LET ME OUT! You can't keep me prisoner here! YOU CAN'T KEEP ME HERE!" He seized a vase sitting on a nearby table, and threw it savagely at the door, relishing the sound of breaking china raining to the floor.

He stood there, breathing heavily, staring at the door with utter malevolence. The damn thing was preventing him from getting to Mokuba. He _needed_ to be with Mokuba, as much for his own comfort as for his brother's. He needed to get to Mokuba before it was too late…

He sank to his knees, defeated, a sob tearing from his throat. It _couldn't_ be too late… it just _couldn't_ be…

_Mokuba is dying,_ said that voice, that spiteful, hateful voice. _He's dying because you failed to protect him. That assassin was aiming for _you_, and you let him hit Mokuba instead, like the coward you are. It's _your_ fault Mokuba was shot. You might as well have pulled the trigger yourself. _

_It is my fault,_ thought Kaiba in response. His shoulders shook with contained sobs, though the tears would not come to his eyes. _Everything is my fault…_

-V-

The doctor entered the room armed with his apprehension and a syringe of sedative. He expected to have to confront an enraged CEO. Instead, his eyes fell on the young man lying in the middle of the room amidst water, vase shards, and dead flowers. Kaiba was curled up on his side, knees pulled up to his chest. His eyes were very wide and blank, and he didn't respond to the door opening; indeed, he did not appear to have noticed.

The doctor was at a loss. All the hospital staff had warned him of the CEO's infamous temper, and so the doctor was prepared to face a rampaging bull. But currently, Kaiba reminded him more of a kitten than a bull; completely harmless. Cautiously he approached Kaiba, and said, "Sir?" while placing a hand tentatively on the young man's shoulder.

Kaiba flinched as if he had been struck, and the usual spark returned to his eyes. He jumped up, and backhanded the doctor in the face. The flustered doctor felt the syringe ripped from his grasp, and felt the tip at his throat. His arm was being twisted painfully behind his back, and so the doctor ceased his struggles. He asked irritably, "How can you be up? You have enough tranquilizer in you to take out a buffalo."

"I won't let a few drugs prevent me from getting to my brother," hissed Kaiba. "You will take me to him now."

"But Mr. Kaiba, you have just undergone operation to have bullet fragments removed from your arm! In addition, your arm is severely broken; you can't get out of bed yet. We're just trying to help you, sir. Let us help you," said the doctor in a firm but reassuring tone.

"You can help me," said Kaiba chillingly, "by TAKING me to my BROTHER. NOW!"

"But sir," replied the doctor nervously, "your brother is in surgery right now. We cannot possibly interrupt the process. He received serious injuries that are being treated as we speak, and everyone is doing everything possible to help him. So you see, it's not possible for you to visit him right now." His voice wavered as Kaiba twisted his arm farther. Visions of a dislocated shoulder flashed before the doctor's eyes, and he amended, "However, I am willing to take you to your brother's room, where you can wait for him until after his surgery."

He gasped in relief as his arm was freed. "Let's go then," said Kaiba. "But first, you'll give me my _own_ clothes back. I refuse to wear this ridiculous garment," he said, sneering at the hospital gown.

After clumsily pulling on his black shirt and pants (a task made cumbersome by his broken arm) and his trench coat, Kaiba pushed the disconcerted doctor out into the hall, threw the syringe back into the room, and shut the door.

The doctor reluctantly led Kaiba to a room in the intensive care ward. The room, more severe than Kaiba's, sent shivers down his spine: it was full of large and ominous life-support equipment. Kaiba shuddered to think of his brother in the bed, hooked to all the machinery like an innocent fly caught in the web of an evil spider.

On a steel table in the corner of the room lay some personal items the doctors found on Mokuba, including his cross whistle necklace and his Duel Monsters card locket that contained his, Seto's, picture. He pocketed these two special artifacts, promising to give them back to Mokuba when Mokuba got better.

Kaiba turned back to the doctor, and said, "Tell me how my brother is," in a demanding tone.

The doctor wrung his hands as he said, "To be perfectly honest, Mr. Kaiba, your brother's condition is less stable than we had hoped. The surgery he is undergoing… well, it does not have a high success rate, and, er, and there is the possibility that your brother will not survive. It's a very low possibility," he added hastily, seeing the look on Kaiba's face. He grimaced, as if expecting Kaiba to hit him again.

Kaiba did not lash out physically, but verbally. His face turned red as blood rushed to it, and his eyes narrowed, nostrils flared. "He will NOT die! If HE dies, ALL of YOU will SHORTLY FOLLOW! I WILL PERSONALLY DIG YOUR GRAVES!" He was yelling full-force at the poor doctor, who was cowering before the livid CEO. Several doctors and nurses peeked their heads cautiously into the room, to see who was making all the commotion. At the sight of Seto Kaiba, they became worried; Kaiba Corp was a major financial backer of the hospital, and the last thing they wanted to do was piss off its owner. Hastily they withdrew from the room, and continued on with their work.

"You must understand," the harried doctor began, "that we are taking the utmost care and caution with your brother, as I have already said. It is very, very likely that he will survive, and will be as good as new in—" The earpiece in his ear started crackling, and as the doctor listened, his eyes got wider and more worried. "Excuse me, sir," he said, "but there are urgent matters to which I must attend. You're free to move about the hospital, of course." With that, he scurried out of the room.

"No thank, I think I'll stay," replied Kaiba curtly to the empty room. He found a hard stainless steel chair in the room, and proceeded to make himself as comfortable as possible._"…there is the possibility that your brother will not survive…"_

_If Mokuba dies..._ thought Kaiba, _If Mokuba dies, then what do I have to live for? _He turned this over again and again in his mind. It was painful to contemplate, but Kaiba felt that this pain was penance; penance he was paying for letting Mokuba get hurt like that… for not protecting Mokuba like he'd promised he would…

_If Mokuba dies, you will have no one and nothing to live for. So why bother living? _the little voice asked him maliciously. And disturbingly, Kaiba agreed with this outlook_. Why _should_ I go on when I have nothing to live for? Kaiba Corp? Ha, I only acquired Kaiba Corp because I was trying to make life better for Mokuba and me. Kaiba Corp can go to hell for all I care. And there is no one else in this world I care for, and no one else who cares for me. It wouldn't matter if I _were_ gone._

In that cold and dark room, Kaiba reached a last desperate decision. _If Mokuba dies, I end it. I will die too._

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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I refuse to kill Seto, and I will not let him kill himself. So be reassured; our favorite bishie will _not_ die.

Obviously I am no doctor, so if I have made a grievous error in something medical I have written, just understand that I have no clue what I'm talking about but I'm trying my hardest!

Next chapter: The plot picks up as a mysterious woman confronts Kaiba at the hospital! And we will learn the fate of poor Mokuba.

R/R? Please?


	3. c o n v e r g e n c e

Originally posted: 4/3/04  
Reposted: 6/11/05

To everyone who reviewed: Thank you so much! You make this such a great experience for me, and I really appreciate ideas, criticism, or just general praise (and hey, who doesn't?)

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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island of red flowers

-V-

by sir mocha

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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chapter 03: c o n v e r g e n c e

The door shot open with a loud _bang_, the sound reverberating through the room. Kaiba's head jerked up and his eyes shot open, and he awoke confused, fearing that the _bang_ was the sound of another fatal gunshot. He looked down, expecting to see a large gaping hole through his chest. He was not shot, thought, and instead discovered the source of the sound to be the heavy steel door, thrown open to allow admittance to the room.

Kaiba stood as this new doctor entered the room. He asked her abruptly, almost desperately, "How is my brother?"

Dr. Takenouchi, as her nametag read, was a young woman with neutral eyes and bright red hair. She was also very short, and when she addressed the tall CEO, she had to crane her neck in order to make eye contact. "He is alive and stable," she said briskly. "He will be getting out of surgery soon. But we cannot have visitors in his room presently, Mr. Kaiba. You will have to leave, and we will call you when you can visit. In the meantime, I suggest that you return to your room where you are _supposed_ to be recovering from a fractured humerus, not to mention extensive muscle damage."

Kaiba planted his feet, and a stubborn look came on his face. "I am not leaving until I see my brother."

"Well, if you really feel that way…" said Takenouchi. She called out to someone in the hall, "Yamato, could you kindly escort Mr. Kaiba back to his room?"

Into the room entered the largest man Kaiba had ever seen. Kaiba looked up – yes, _up_ – at the man who was half a foot taller and easily 100 lbs heavier. And from the looks of his bulging biceps, that 100 lbs was pure muscle. Kaiba gulped, knowing very well that he could not possibly take on this behemoth of a man. To retain any semblance of dignity, the CEO stuck his nose in the air and told the doctor, "I need no nurse to escort me out of a hospital room. I am perfectly capable of finding my own way." He swooped out of the room past the thick nurse and the satisfied doctor.

__

Shit, he thought as he found himself in the hallway, _I let those incompetent fools kick me out. But if they're taking care of Mokuba, I guess the least I can do is attempt to cooperate with them._ His heart felt strangely light, because Mokuba was _alive_ and _stable_! Mokuba would not die after all, and he, Seto, would not have to live his live with nothing but horrible remorse! The mistake he had made was remedied, and everyone would be okay in the end. He reflected on decision from earlier, and thought, _No resorting to desperate measures, thank God_!

Kaiba was already deciding that the world was looking like a much nicer place; the last thing he wanted to do was return to his god-awful hospital room. In addition to it being the most dismal room in the hospital (in his opinion), the shards of the vase on the ground would bring back bad memories that would put clouds on his now-sunny day.

Kaiba decided instead to go on a walk around the hospital, to amble and see the sights the hospital had to offer. He journeyed by rooms with little kids complaining about getting their tonsils out; he passed by rooms with people weeping over their dying family members; he traveled past room where people were eagerly showing their new scars or stitches or casts to curious friends. Normally, Kaiba would have been the first to laugh at the misfortunes of the sick and injured; it was not his nature to be caring and concerned for others. However, the good news about Mokuba had turned him in to a regular Johnny Sunshine, and now he passed by these rooms with mere indifference.

Traversing the halls of the hospital, Kaiba came upon one different from the others. Most of the halls were grey and drab and sterile, but this hall had a large window, looking into a brightly-lit room. This variation caught his eye, and he looked into the room to see why this room was lit so brightly and cheerfully.

His nose wrinkled at the sight of the contents of the room. In pink and blue colored bassinets lay newborn babies. Most were sleeping peacefully, but several were crying, and nurses were walking among them, tending to the babies' needs and soothing the discontented ones.

__

Babies, sneered Kaiba. _Drooling, crying, pooping, vomiting wastes of humanity. This must be the maternity ward._

He looked up, and in fact it was the maternity ward, as a nearby sign proclaimed. Kaiba felt uncomfortable, to say the least. The only people that went to the maternity ward were nervous fathers-to-be and bloated mothers, oh-so-proud of their little bundles of puke. He, the 21-year-old president of Kaiba Corp. (and very much a bachelor) had no place here. He turned to leave.

If he had been a skittish person, he probably would have jumped; as it was, he managed to keep his composure and mask his surprise.

A woman was standing in front of him, and he had not heard her approach. She was wearing a long black dress that did not hide the bulge of her stomach. She was very much pregnant. But this was not peculiar (especially in a maternity ward). What was peculiar about her was that her head was completely covered by a long black veil. Kaiba could not make out any of her facial characteristics, but when she spoke, the world-wise Kaiba could tell that her accent was distinctly Egyptian.

"Your name?" asked the woman. "I must know your name."

"And why should I tell you my name?" asked Kaiba coolly.

"Would it be so much trouble for you to tell me your name?" asked the woman in a mysterious tone.

"Well, I can tell that you are _not_ from around here, or you would already know who I am. Everyone knows who I am. I am Seto Kaiba, President and CEO of Kaiba Corporations," Kaiba announced in an arrogant tone.

The woman inclined her head. In an ethereal voice, she said, "It is as I thought. You are Seto Kaiba, the young man I have been waiting to meet. I figured our paths would converge soon.

"And you are mistaken, Kaiba. Although I do not live in this country, and I know very little about this area, I know who you are, and I know all about you. I know that you are here because your brother was gravely wounded, and I know that you blame yourself entirely for what happened. I know you wanted to cry for your brother, but you could not because your cruel stepfather long ago hardened your heart to emotions of the soul. Yes, I know all about your heart and your soul. I know that you are cold-hearted, and insensitive, and I know that very soon events will transpire that will change your heart, as well as your life, completely." She looked up, and had she not been wearing the veil, Kaiba was certain that her eyes would be staring deep into his own.

All the blood drained from his face, making him very pale. _How does this woman know these things about me? I've never told _anyone_ before! How does this woman know things about me that even I do not?_

Kaiba belied his bewilderment by turning up his nose and sneering, "Ridiculous! That's a load of nonsense. You have no clue what you're saying, you crazy woman!"

The woman smiled behind her veil. It was exactly as she had Seen: Kaiba was cold and arrogant, but would soon learn to be human. "Kaiba, as you may have noticed, I am pregnant. In one more month, I will deliver my child. I name _you_ Godfather to my child, and I will not allow you to refuse." She turned on her heels, and started walking away. "And Kaiba," she called over her shoulder, "you will, in time, come to appreciate this honor I have bestowed upon you more than you think."

Kaiba sneered. He was to be the _godfather_ to this mad woman's unborn child? This was absurd. He said yelled coldly to her, "I think you need to head down to the mental ward. There are doctors there who can help you."

Passers-by stared at the CEO for his rude remark, but he glared at anyone foolish enough to catch his eye and scared off the crowd.

He smirked. _Her words were bull shit. I should just forget that this run-in with that lunatic ever happened._

But how did_ she know? _he wondered. _She must have overheard my ranting from earlier, and then she made some lucky guesses. Yes, that's it: a lucky guess made by eavesdropping._ His practical brain decided that the encounter was a freak accident and nothing more. But that did not stop him from leaving the ward with the utmost haste.

****

-V-

"Well, Miss Wheeler, your eyes are in perfect condition," proclaimed the cheerful optometrist, moving the bulky eye-testing equipment out of Serenity's way. Serenity hopped out of the chair, rejoicing at the positive diagnosis.

"Am I free to go?" she asked, looking hopeful.

"You'll have to return for another checkup in two months—" Serenity made a face "—but we'll call you when it's time for you to come in. So yes, you're free to go."

After thanking the optometrist, Serenity left the room. _I'm _so_ glad to be going! I _hate_ being back here after spending so much time here after my surgery. I hated being so cramped in that room and unable to do anything by myself, thanks to those stupid bandages. I hated being so useless._

She unconsciously picked up her pace, eager to get out of that stifling hospital. Turning a corner, she didn't see the woman right in front of her until it was too late, and they collided, both falling to the ground. Serenity pushed herself back up, and then looked down at the woman. The woman was dressed in a black gown, with a hazy veil covering her head. Serenity could distinguish none of her characteristics, except for the fact that the woman was very pregnant, and was having a very difficult time trying to get up. Serenity felt guilty, and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry! Please, let me help you." She offered a hand to pull the woman to her feet.

"Thank you," said the woman in a warm tone. "You are very sweet and caring. You could melt the heart of any man."

Serenity raised her eyebrow. Was that a compliment? If so, it was an extremely strange one. "Thank you?" she said uncertainly, showing her confusion.

"I was hoping that you could do something for me," said the woman. "I am all alone here in this country; the only person I have left is my brother, and currently he's in Egypt and will not likely leave. In addition, the baby's father is no longer on this earth…" She bowed her head, then raised it again. "I was wondering if, when the time comes, you support me while I go through labor. I was also wondering if you would be Godmother to my child."

Serenity was quite taken aback. She hardly knew this woman, yet she was asking Serenity to be there when she _delivered_ the _baby_? But the woman looked so alone, and if her story was true, then Serenity could hardly refuse. It would be rude. "I'd be honored to," she said. "But how will I know when it is time?"

"You will know," said the woman enigmatically. "I am sure of it." Then, very peculiarly, the woman placed her hands on either side of Serenity's head, and through the veil, Serenity was sure that the woman's eyes were staring deep into hers. She shivered.

The woman said quietly, "Isis bless you. You are special, Serenity, and you will in time come to understand that. Never give up hope, and never despair; the path you walk, though difficult, will lead to the sweetest reward of all." Then she turned and walked away. Dazed, Serenity thought, _How did she know my name? I never told her._ She shivered again, and hurried quickly to the exit. On her way out, she heard the PA crackle, **Seto Kaiba, please report to room 10622 immediately.**

Serenity sighed. _Poor Kaiba_. The shooting incident was all over the afternoon news, which reported that Seto and Mokuba Kaiba had been shot, and were in critical condition. She felt sympathy for both brothers, Mokuba _and_ Seto. Even if Seto _was_ a cold-hearted bastard (as Joey impressed so strongly on her), no one deserved to be shot. But from the PA, Serenity figured that Seto was at least mobile, which was a relief. She was concerned for Mokuba though, who was the sweetest little kid she knew. _It's true that I hardly know him, but I _do_ want him to be safe and well._

****

-V-

The doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors jumped quickly out of the path of the white blur careening down the hall. Several were unfortunate enough to not move away in time, and they cursed the blur as they were thrown painfully into the wall. But nothing would impede Kaiba's passage to his brother's room.

He got there in record time, huffing and puffing (a rare occurrence for the athletic young man) and barreled into the room without knocking, startling the assorted doctors and nurses.

"Mr. Kaiba!" said Dr. Takenouchi indignantly, "this is a hospital room, not a funhouse! You cannot come barging in without first asking! You could disrupt delicate processes, or damage equipment, of which there are copious amounts." Kaiba tried to push past her in order to get to Mokuba, but was met with a finger wagging in his face. "I'm not done talking to you!" she spat, staring up at him threateningly. "I have to converse with you about your brother. There are some things we must discuss." Her strength, surprising for a woman her size, was evident by the way she forcefully pushed Kaiba out of the room, steered him down the hall to the closest waiting area, and pushed him down onto a chair.

She remained standing in front of him. "Now that you are at my level, Mr. Kaiba," she said dryly, "we may talk rationally. And you must take this news rationally as well. None of the histrionics I heard about earlier from Dr. Izumi." Kaiba really didn't like the direction this conversation was taking. Takenouchi did not sound happy, which meant that the news was not good. (Although, in the back of his mind, Kaiba wondered if this woman was even _capable_ of smiling. She was not a naturally cheerful person.) Kaiba sat on the edge of his seat to hear what she had to say.

"The surgery went well, better than we expected. We were able to repair the injuries to your brother's vital organs, and we gave him a blood transfusion because he lost a lot of blood. Everything was fine, but then your brother's body started trying to reject the new blood. We found out that a careless error had been made by one of our technicians, and the new blood was not compatible with your brother's."

Kaiba jumped up angrily, ready to disembowel the careless surgeons, but with a glare from Takenouchi he sat down again, fuming silently, to listen to the rest of the account.

"Once the error was discovered, we proceeded to remedy the situation. I won't go into detail, but it was a messy process in more ways than one. We got the correct blood in, but the stress on your brother's body was very serious…"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MOKUBA?" shouted Kaiba crazily. The doctor slapped him painfully on the face, bringing him back to reality. She told him to shut up and control himself, which he did grudgingly.

"_As I was saying_," continued Takenouchi, "your brother went through serious medical trauma. His body has reverted to a comatose state and we have been unable to wake him as of yet."

"Mokuba is in a COMA?" asked Kaiba, aghast at the doctor's words. He jumped up and ran in the direction of the room, the doctor chasing after him, yelling, "If you do not stop, I _will_ call security!"

For the second time in half an hour, the doctors and nurses in Mokuba's room jumped at the arrival of the elder Kaiba. He pushed past them, and then he was standing next to the bed where Mokuba lay.

"Oh God," he breathed.

Mokuba was hooked up to machines all around his bed. Some were used to pump fluids into his bloodstream, some monitored his vital signs, and some had no discernible purpose at all. All the wires connecting to various parts of his body made Mokuba look like that innocent fly Kaiba had so vividly imagined, trapped in the web of the spider. On Mokuba's face was a look of concentration, and of pain. And Kaiba knew that that pain was one pain he could do nothing to soothe.

__

He's a vegetable. He might as well be cut up and thrown in a stew pot. He's dead, thanks to you, you murderer, accused his brain. _Just give up now._

__

Shut up. JUST SHUT UP! Mokuba is not_ dead, and I _will NOT_ give up while he is still alive!_ shouted Kaiba mentally, refusing to give up on the brother he swore he would take care of.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Surprised, he looked down at his owner, Dr. Takenouchi. "He is in a coma, and it is difficult to say whether or not he will wake up," she said softly, almost sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Kaiba said nothing. His anguish was too deep for words. 

-

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V


	4. h u m i l i t y

Originally posted: 5/1/04  
Reposted: 6/11/05

THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed chapter 03! It really means a lot to me when people take the time to write a nice review, saying what they liked and what they didn't. :throws bonbons to the multitudes:

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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island of red flowers

-V-

by sir mocha

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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** **

chapter 04: h u m i l i t y

The accountant walked nervously down the hall towards the towering oak doors at the end. Why on earth had they chosen _him_ to address Mr. Kaiba? He was terrified to death of the young CEO, who had been driven half-mad by his brother's shooting. Ever since that day, Mr. Kaiba had been even surlier than before, and very, very edgy, firing Kaiba Corp employees at will. And this accountant, the bearer of bad news, liked his job and was not ready to leave yet.

__

The slower I walk, he thought, _the longer it'll be until I face Mr. Kaiba, and the longer it'll be until I'm fired. So maybe I'll take my time…_

A loudspeaker over the twin doors beeped, and Kaiba's irate voice boomed through the desolate hall. "**I know you're out there, and I know you have something for me, so enter now before I get impatient and lose my temper.**"

The accountant jumped at the direct address from the infamous CEO, and then walked quickly towards the door, shaking slightly. Mr. Kaiba was legendary for his notorious temper, and many an employee had been dismissed from Kaiba Corp, victim to Mr. Kaiba's rage.

Since Mr. Kaiba was expecting him, the accountant didn't bother to knock, but instead pushed open one of the immense doors hesitantly. His eyes took a moment to adjust; the room was very dark because all the windows were covered by dark curtains.

Kaiba, cast-free after only a month (at his insistence), was sitting at his desk, surrounded by piles of paper and glowing computer screens. He looked up at the interruption. "Weren't you taught to knock first before barging in?" he asked irritably.

"But sir…" began the flustered accountant.

"Silence. Tell me what you were sent to tell me, then get out of my sight," snapped Kaiba.

"Y-yes sir." The accountant gulped. "Harrison of N-Tech faxed a report a short while ago to the finances department. The finances director felt that it would be best if you saw this immediately, as it is an issue of rather pressing importance."

"Well, don't just stand there like an idiot, summarize it for me! I'm very busy, and can't spend all my time reading reports from American technology companies." Kaiba glared at the accountant, who was sweating profusely at what his boss had just asked him to do. He had quickly learned that it was a baaaaad idea to ignore a direct order from the CEO.

"Harrison said that N-Tech has decided to stop distributing Kaiba Corp products in the States, and is planning to manufacture its own products, based largely on our own. If you would like to read the full report…" he trailed off, holding up a packet, damp from his sweaty hands. He waited for the guillotine blade to fall.

And fall it did. "WHAT?" exploded Kaiba, jumping up out of his chair, red in the face. "WHAT? HOW _DARE_ THEY STEAL _MY_ TECHNOLOGY! THE THIEVES!" He stalked over to the quivering accountant and snatched the packet from him, eyeing him angrily. "What are you still doing here? Get out of my sight, and get out of my building. If you ever return I'll get my nine-millimeter and blow a hole in your head!"

As the terrified accountant sprinted away, Kaiba stood, reading through the report. Every page made the scowl on his face more and more pronounced. Once finished, Kaiba furiously ripped the packet in little pieces, which he threw angrily on the ground. "Patent?" he muttered, "I'll 'patent' your ASS, Harrison!" He stormed over to his desk, opened his contact book, and found the number for Harrison, CEO of N-Tech, and American-based gaming technology manufacturer. He dialed the number on his laptop, then pulled on the headset and angrily shoved the hair out of his eyes, trying to make himself look older and more mature.

Harrison's face appeared on the screen, looking smug. "Ah, Seto my boy, I wondered when I'd be hearing from you. Doubtless you've received my report?"

"Bastard," spat Kaiba in perfect English. "And I'm no one's 'boy'. I'm the most powerful man in Japan, and it would be wise for you to not forget that. But enough pleasantries. WHY have you dropped Kaiba Corp, and WHAT do you mean by _stealing_ MY technology?"

Harrison tented his fingers. He adopted a tone appropriate for talking to small children, which further infuriated the already livid young man. "You see, my son, we discovered that rather than buy products from Kaiba Corp, and re-sell them, it would be cheaper for the consumer and cheaper for N-Tech if we made it ourselves. And really, your technology is not hard to make. It just needed someone like you to develop the concept in the first place. Once we had decided to drop you, we checked to make sure that it was legal to produce technology similar to yours without asking first. And when we found that you had no US patents on your technology, we felt that it was fair game. Did you understand all that, or do I need to explain it to you again?"

"Don't patronize me," snapped Kaiba, seething. "I don't need you to explain what I understand quite thoroughly. I'm quite surprised, really. For six years, N-Tech had been a financial supporter of the R and D at Kaiba Corp, and in turn Kaiba Corp technology has helped you become big and influential in the States, a status you would not have achieved without our help. Now you're honoring that allegiance, and that help, by _stealing_ my technology and slapping me with a technicality my lawyers will tear apart in no time?"

"You yourself just said that N-Tech has been a big backer of Kaiba Corp R and D. If it weren't for our financial assistance, you never would have developed that technology in the first place!"

"Not that it matters anymore, but the technology you thought to purloin from me was technology _I_ whipped together in _my_ spare time. N-Tech had nothing to do with it, and if you had any honor you would not take what is rightfully mine."

"Seto, lad," said Harrison, leaning back in his chair, "sometime you'll learn that the business world is not a world of 'friends' and 'honor' and 'commitment'. It is a world where we take any opportunity we can get to get ahead in the game, and make the most profit. You'll learn that as you grow older and wiser," he added condescendingly.

"Well, obviously no wisdom was exercised in the decision to steal my technology and drop Kaiba Corp," retorted Kaiba. "This was a pleasant chat, Harrison. I'll be sure to get in touch with you very, very soon." He terminated the conversation, happy to have had the last word.

Harrison, sitting in his office, stared at the black screen where Kaiba's face had been seconds earlier. He turned to his assistant, smirking. "He's just a child," he said, speaking insultingly of the 21-year-old. "He thinks he's so powerful, but we can throw back in his face anything he throws at us." He paused for a moment, then, "But I _will_ keep my eye on him. It's not wise to underestimate an opponent." Another pause. Then, startling the assistant, he loudly exclaimed, "Dammit, we were so close!"

****

-V-

Kaiba popped two ibuprofen in his mouth, and washed them down with some water. He tilted his head back, hoping that the pounding in his head would soon subside. He massaged his temples, trying to assist the drug.

__

I really need to get back to work. I have a lot to do still, and I promised Mokuba I'd visit him tonight. Kaiba had been making visits three times a week for a month, visits where he would sit at Mokuba's bedside and talk to him in hopes of waking him. But Mokuba remained silent, and Kaiba, in his spare time, threw himself into work with even more vigor. He would work 18-hour days, 7 days a week, convincing himself that he needed to work in order to provide adequately for Mokuba. His brother's shadow haunted him at nights, so Kaiba slept less and worked more, eager to do anything to take his mind off Mokuba. But the visits were a ritual, almost a necessity, and Kaiba found that they helped relieve him of the stress he felt at work.

Some hours later, Kaiba awoke with a start as he fell off his chair, startled by the ringing of his telephone. He looked at the clock: **7:43 pm**. Kaiba had, unintentionally, had a much needed 4-hour nap.

__

Perfect! he thought angrily. _I wasted four necessary hours, and now I have only 20 minutes before I have to go. DAMMIT!_ Kaiba was very much cranky, but at least his headache was gone.

Ii then occurred to Kaiba that it might be prudent to pick up the phone. Maybe it was Harrison, calling to apologize and beg forgiveness? He picked it up, and said, "Kaiba here."

"Oh, good, Mr. Kaiba, I reached you!" The voice was female, so Kaiba assumed that it was Takenouchi, because what other female would wish to call him?

"What happened? Why are you calling me? Is Mokuba awake?" he asked eagerly.

Silence. Then, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, but I'm not Dr. Takenouchi. My name is Dr. Mazukaru. I'm glad I finally reached you. I left several messages with your secretary earlier, but—"

Kaiba switched lines to his secretary, cutting the doctor off. "Do I have any messages?" he asked the young woman.

"Several, Mr. Kaiba, but I didn't want to disturb you," replied the secretary meekly.

"You're a bad secretary," spat Kaiba. "Those messages could have been crucial, and instead of waking me, you let me sleep on and waste four vital hours. You're fired." He abruptly switched back to the doctor, and ordered, "Continue."

"Er," said Mazukaru uncertainly, "I know you're very busy, but I was wondering if, when you came by tonight to the hospital, I could have a word with you. It's quite important."

"If I have any time to spare, I suppose I could give you a moment," replied Kaiba, surprising himself with his generosity. Perhaps the nap had put him in a good (well, not good, but better) mood.

"Thank you very much Mr. Kaiba. So I'll come and find you later."

Kaiba gave an affirmative grunt, then hung up the phone. _I wonder what that was all about. Why would a doctor wish to talk to me when we've never met?_ His mind suddenly flashed back to that day, a month ago, that he had had the run in with that crazy pregnant woman. _It couldn't be… That was nothing but nonsense._ Refusing to give up his practical, non-imaginative nature, Kaiba packed up his work and left for the hospital, passing his sobbing ex-secretary on the way out.

****

-V-

****

9:15 pm. Kaiba stared at the clock during a lull in his one-sided conversation. He had just finished ranting to Mokuba about the incident with Harrison, and told Mokuba all the unpleasant names he would like to call the treacherous man. He was casting around in his mind for something to tell Mokuba about, and something that might wake him up. He had hoped that all the colorful swearing would shock his brother awake, but Mokuba remained silent, and Kaiba remained somber.

A knock on the door made Kaiba turn around, and he saw, standing in the doorway, a middle-aged, slightly stout woman. "Mr. Kaiba?" she asked. "Hi, I believe we spoke on the phone earlier. I'm Dr. Mazukaru," she said cheerfully, holding out a hand to shake.

Kaiba stood, and shook her hand with his own. "You said you had something you needed to discuss with me?" he asked inquiringly.

"Ah, yes. Could you follow me, please?" asked the doctor, proceeding out the door. Kaiba followed, his new black coat swishing out behind him.

"So what is this all about?" he asked impatiently.

"Well," began Mazukaru, "about a month ago, one of my patients came to me and asked me to obtain for her legal custody documents. When I asked her why, she said that she had to get her affairs in order before it was too late, or some silliness like that. The poor dear… we had found her on the street, lost, alone, and babbling nonsense—"

__

Speaking in Egyptian, no doubt. How ignorant is_ this doctor?_ thought Kaiba snidely, suspecting with apprehension who the woman was the doctor was talking about.

"—and of course we took her in and gave her food and shelter, and a place to rest her head. And when the girl came to her senses, she told us, imagine this, that she would have her baby in a month! And her brother in Egypt, and her husband dead… Well, I felt so sorry for the poor dear, I was willing to do anything for her, so of course I scurried off as fast as I could to find those papers."

Kaiba was starting to worry. He had written off the woman as a lunatic, but from the sound of the doctor's babbling, the woman had hoodwinked her into taking some sort of legal measures for… what? Surely it had nothing to do with that crazy _godfather_ nonsense…

"So as soon as I got those papers," said Dr. Mazukaru, "she gave me the names and phone numbers of the two people she named as godparents to her child. I had no idea why she seemed so desperate, but I suppose it is fortunate that we got that taken care of while we could." Her smile dropped, and her face fell. "She died, Mr. Kaiba," she said in a somber tone, quite different from her cheerful burble. "She died right after giving birth. I won't forget her last words: 'Tell them to take care of my daughter.' And she died without even giving a name to that beautiful baby girl." Mazukaru wiped the tears out of her sad eyes.

__

This is not good, thought Kaiba nervously, waiting for the doctor to regain composure. _This is not good at all._

Mazukaru, now dry-eyed, continued. "We've already tried calling the child's godmother several times this week, but have been unable to talk with her as of yet. You have to understand, Mr. Kaiba, that we are short of space in this hospital already, and we cannot keep the child here any longer. The only other option is to send the girl to an orphanage, and you of all people can understand why we don't want to do that."

__

That old SNAKE! thought Kaiba angrily. _She's playing on my goddamn miserable childhood at that goddamn miserable orphanage._ "And I suppose," he said coolly, "that you want _me_ to take the infant?"

She gave him a sad smile. "We were hoping that you would."

Now Kaiba had to weigh the consequences. He had neither the desire, nor the time, to take care of a child, and indeed, had no idea how one went about doing so. He was a businessman, not a family man, and he didn't know how adopting a child would change the professional image he had worked so long to perfect. He didn't want to be known as a sentimental fool to his ruthless business partners. Plus, he had no love for the strange child, and had had bad experiences with a step-father who didn't love him. He did _not_ want to become another Gozaburo.

On the other hand, what Mazukaru had said was true: Kaiba knew the hell he went through, and Mokuba went through, all those years at the orphanage, and he could not put anyone through that misery, even indirectly. And that was enough to make him hesitate in his decision.

Mazukaru saw the conflict in the young man's eyes, and decided to assist him with his decision. "Follow me," she said, walking into the room she had led them to.

Kaiba followed her into the nursery he had peeked into earlier. Again his nose wrinkled, but this time it was the smell: a combination of formula and talcum powder. The sound of crying grated in his ears, and he clenched his jaw, eager to get out.

The doctor walked over to a basket in the corner, where a baby lay, wrapped in a pink blanket. Even Kaiba could tell that she was a sweet girl, sleeping calmly while those around her cried and fussed obnoxiously. Kaiba felt a strange feeling that he had not felt in a very long time: compassion towards a stranger. Even the most cold-hearted of all CEOs would feel compassion for this poor child, sleeping contentedly, not knowing that she was alone in the world. But he would allow none of this compassion, none of this pity, to show. He still wore the sneer that had become a permanent fixture on his face.

But Dr. Mazukaru, who had worked with hundreds of patients, knew how to look past a patient's facial expression and into his or her eyes, the windows to the soul. She could see the pity and attachment in Kaiba's eyes, and she knew that he was at the edge of convinced. And she knew how to push him over that edge. She reached down into the basket and picked the baby up. "Why don't you hold her, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba looked at the doctor, startled. He had no clue how to handle a baby. What if he dropped it on its head, and killed it? But with a free hand, Mazukaru positioned his arms, and before he could protest, he felt the weight of the child tucked into his embrace.

He looked down at the small, sleeping bundle he held gingerly. She felt just right in his arms, and she looked so contented. Indeed, the two seemed to have been made for each other, as a satisfied Mazukaru thought. They were the perfect picture of father and daughter.

__

Well, isn't this darling, smirked the voice in Kaiba's head. _You, staring goo-goo eyed at the little bundle of puke in your arms. Are you Seto Kaiba, President and CEO of Kaiba Corp, or are you Papa Seto, singing lullabies, and feeding and burping Baby, and then wiping up after she pukes all over your clothes?_

"This is madness," agreed Kaiba out loud. "I'm 21 years old, and the president of a multinational corporation. I have no time to have a family." He tried to hand the baby back to Mazukaru, but she pushed it back to him.

"I will not let that child spend another night here. Either she goes with you, or she goes to an orphanage, but she will not stay here." Mazukaru knew she was being harsh, but she needed to push Kaiba just a little further.

__

That orphanage thing again! She's doing it on purpose, I know it!

But how can I refuse?

"I don't know how to be a father," said Kaiba almost pleadingly. "I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Are you telling me," asked Mazukaru, eyebrow raised, "that there is _no one_ in that big house of yours that knows how to care for a child?"

Kaiba's mind wandered to the large caretaking staff at the Kaiba mansion, all of whom hated him for being such an arrogant jerk. "Well, yes, but—"

"Then you're good to go," said Dr. Mazukaru. She abruptly took the baby from Kaiba, and hurried into an adjacent room. Kaiba stood watching as she returned with a diaper bag in one hand, and a baby carrier in the other. "Put this bag over your shoulder, like a purse," she instructed, smiling at Kaiba's obvious reluctance at her choice of words. "Then use two hands to carry the carrier. You don't want to accidentally drop it." She told him some other rudimentary skills of child care, then bid him goodbye. Right before he left, she said, "Mr. Kaiba, the girl has not been named yet. Do you know yet what you would like to name her?"

Kaiba looked down at the baby, whom he was becoming more attached to every minute. But a name…?

Kaiba took on his usual tone. "I don't care. I'll let her mother name her. Women like to decide that kind of thing. I will see that the baby receives sufficient care. Good evening." He was halfway out the door before a question came to his mind. "May I inquire as to the identity of her godmother?"

Mazukaru checked the contact sheet. "The godmother is a Miss Serenity Wheeler, and I have her phone number here, if you would like it."

__

Wheeler! thought Kaiba, dumbfounded. _The puppy's sister! Of all the people to share custody with… Let us hope that she is more bearable than Wheeler… It would be quite impossible to be _less_ bearable, after all… but it might be hereditary. This is a strange situation indeed. _Kaiba smirked. _Wheeler will doubtless be_ amused_ by the fact that the father of his sister's child is the man he hates most in the world._

He took the note with Serenity's address and phone number written on it, then left the hospital. He climbed into his limo, looking at the driver in the rearview mirror. If the driver was surprised by Kaiba's 'acquisition', he belied it well.

****

-V-

"Oh, the bastard's back, I see," spat one young maid in the Kaiba mansion, spotting the limo's headlights from the kitchen window.

Snorts of agreement were made by all the rest of the staff, who all hated their employer with a vengeance. Of course, none of them would have dared show such disrespect right to Kaiba's face, but behind closed kitchen doors, many a curse was thrown towards the cold young man. (They weren't aware of the concealed microphones that fed their every word directly to Kaiba, who knew what they said and didn't care.)

"At first I felt sorry for him, with his brother and all," said another, "but after that he became more of a slave drive, and more heartless than ever."

"We should all quite one day," said a man at the sink, washing dishes. "Then he'll see how much he really needs us, and how he depends on us, but by then it will be too late."

"Let me remind you," said a cold voice from the door, "that you are all under contract, and if you quit then you forfeit all the pay you have earned to this point."

All the servants turned, and were very unpleasantly surprised to see Kaiba, the object of their grumbling, staring at them from the doorway. But what was _more_ surprising was the carrier he dangled from one hand, which appeared to be occupied by a sleeping pink bundle.

"Find me the head housekeeper, that Umake woman," ordered Kaiba. "We need to talk."

"Did I hear my name?" asked a venerable old woman emerging from the back stairs. Miro Umake had been hired by Gozaburo Kaiba when the mansion was first built, and had been working there ever since. She was well into her 70s, with fluffy gray hair and kindly brown eyes (though at the moment they were hardly kindly towards the disagreeable CEO). Kaiba knew that if anyone knew how to raise a child, it was Umake. However…

"What do you need, Mr. Kaiba? I am extremely busy, currently, and do not have time to trade words with the likes of you, _sir_." She made the title sound like an insult. Then her eyes widened as she caught sight of the baby. "Good lord, Mr. Kaiba, what is the meaning of this?" She followed him out the door, the curious servants running to the keyhole, trying to hear what was going on.

Kaiba explained to Miro the entire story, beginning with the encounter with the woman, ending with his surprising day.

"Mr. Kaiba, as _I_ interpret this, you need _my_ personal help with this child. Yet there is _nothing_ in my contract saying that I have to help you raise your adopted child. So I do not see why I _should_ help you, when you have never been particularly pleasant to me in the 10 years you've lived here."

"I would be willing to offer you a salary raise, of course," added Kaiba somewhat impatiently. The baby was beginning to give off a pungent odor, and Kaiba had a sneaking suspicion as to the source.

"You don't get it, do you Mr. Kaiba? I would like you to pay me the _respect_ I deserve for 10 years of hard work and loyal service to you and to your mansion." She smiled sardonically, knowing well that Kaiba would never be able to accomplish this feat.

This idea was so novel to Kaiba, he had to stop and consider it. Surely he showed his appreciation. He paid her, right? And gave her food, and a place to stay in the mansion. He may not have been particularly chummy with her, but she was a _servant_. It didn't matter. Or did it? That was what Kaiba was contemplating.

There was an awkward silence, then something happened that neither person quite expected. Kaiba bowed to Miro, and then said in his most humble voice, "Please, I… need your help. You know more about this than I ever will."

Miro smiled, a true smile this time, and said, "Good evening, Mr. Kaiba. I do not believe that we have been properly introduced. My name is Miro Umake, and I am head manager of the Kaiba mansion." The two shook hands, Kaiba somewhat reluctantly, humiliated by his servile action.

Miro noticed the sour and somewhat sick look on Kaiba's face, and chuckled. _Must be hard for him, bowing to someone lower than he is._ "May I hold the child, Mr. Kaiba?" she asked, taking the baby into her arms and studying her fondly. "How precious. What's her name?"

"She doesn't have one yet. I figured I'd let her godmother name her." That reminded him. He yelled very loudly, so the eavesdropping servants would hear, "I need one of you to locate Serenity Wheeler for me. Tell me as soon as you have her." Several servants jumped to fulfill the direct order from their boss. "Serenity is the baby's godmother, and I need to talk to her about custodial arrangements, and names, and such," he said more quietly to Miro.

"Well, the fact that she is the godmother is fortunate. According to Ryou, Serenity is a very nice girl, and very caring towards her family and friends." Ryou Bakura, Miro's grandson, frequently visited his grandmother at the Kaiba Mansion; Kaiba knew the two were very close.

"The servants will find her soon for you, Mr. Kaiba. And in the meantime," she added, "I have to teach you how to change a diaper."

-

****

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

-

I figured I would take pity on our protagonist and give him a relatively angst-free chapter. He's going to need it, especially for what's coming up ahead:cackles:

Also, if you're not a fan of corporate politics, you probably won't like this story very much. The issue with Harrison and Kaiba Corp evolves into one of the main plots of the a little later on. Don't get me wrong; there's action, and romance, and humor and angst and all that good stuff! But there's also a lot of corporate politics…

…Reviews? I'd love some…


	5. g r a t i t u d e

Originally posted: 5/27/04  
Edited: 8/28/05

It's kind of sad… as I revamp the story, I'm deleting all my old ANs. On one level it's good, because most of them were really stupid and it's good to see them go. On the other hand, it's kinda sad and nostalgic, in a way, that some of my words will be lost forever. But go they must… I'm trying to start afresh.

My apologies to Sakura, or anyone who suggested 'Sakura'. I think the name is pretty, but 'Sakura Kaiba' is really too 'K' rich for my tastes. (No comment on "Mokuba...")

**Thank you** to all the wonderful people who reviewed chapter 04! Hugs and kisses to the lot of you!

-

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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island of red flowers

-V-

by sir mocha

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

-

****

chapter 05: g r a t i t u d e

"Hey, Serenity," said Joey, peeking his head into Serenity's bedroom where she had been holed up for the past few hours. "Oh, I didn't wake you, did I? It's a bit early to be going to bed. But I guess you're dealing with the jet lag?"

She sat up and looked at him, her eyes red-rimmed as if she had been crying. She just shook her head no, he hadn't woken her.

"Oh no, you're not _crying_ again, are you?" asked the ever-discreet Joey. "I thought that once we got back home, you'd stop feeling so bad. If you'd just tell me what's wrong…"

"I don't know why I'm so sad, I just am," said Serenity, feeling bad for lying to her trusting brother. But she didn't want him to learn what a horrible person she was.

"Eh, well, if you ever need me, you know I'm here for you," said Joey sincerely. And then in an instant, his mood changed to something akin to anger. "And I just listened to the phone messages, and there was one for you from _Kaiba_!" he said savagely. "Why would Moneybags call you! You better be staying away from him like I told you! You know how I feel about him!" He growled, sounding ironically enough like an angry dog.

Serenity rolled her eyes, amused by her brother's typical Joey behavior. "I have no idea why Kaiba called. I haven't spoken to him since Battle City."

"And you won't speak to him anymore! I'll call him back, and tell him to cut the crap and leave you the hell alone!" He was breathing heavily through his nose, indignant at the thought of Serenity talking to his worst enemy.

"No Joey, I don't want you to get into another one of your world famous arguments with Kaiba. I'll call him back, and hear what he wants, and then I'll never talk to him again."

Joey just _hmph_ed and stalked off to his bedroom to sulk.

Serenity wandered into the living room, thinking somberly of the past grim week. But contrary to what she had told Joey, Serenity knew the exact reason she woke up every day sobbing.

While on vacation, the dreams had started coming. Dreams of a woman, struggling, alone and looking for someone, anyone, who would help her lessen the solitude and the pain. Serenity knew that she should be at that woman's side, reassuring her that everything would be fine. Serenity had promised the woman that she would. But when she should have been at the hospital, helping that poor woman, where was she? On vacation, wasting her time skiing and drinking hot chocolate, having a grand old time.

But at night, her dreams would reprimand her for being negligent of her duties. Every night, the dreams got worse, pounding into Serenity's subconscious images of loneliness, of desperation and hopelessness, and of pain and despair, until it got to be so bad that Serenity would wake up sobbing and screaming. Anzu, her roommate, had gotten quite concerned, despite Serenity's insistences that it was nothing, and told Joey, who cut short the trip with the hope that returning home would soothe Serenity. But it didn't, because even with the early return, Serenity knew that it was too late. And so the dreams persisted, unwilling to relent.

Serenity pushed the button on the answering machine, cycling through the messages until she heard, "**I'm calling for a Miss Serenity Wheeler, on behalf of Mr. Seto Kaiba. Mr. Kaiba requests that you call him as soon as you get this message. It is an issue of rather pressing importance.**" It gave Kaiba's telephone number, and then ended.

What on earth would Kaiba call me_ for? I really _haven't _spoken to him since Battle City, and that was only once,_ she pondered. She glanced at the clock. **10:27 pm**. _Well, the message did say to call _as soon as_ I got it. So I suppose now is as fine a time as any._ If she woke Kaiba, she didn't care; from what Joey said, and from what she had witnessed at Battle City, he was neither the most polite nor the most pleasant fellow.

mehaven't she pondered. She glanced at the clock. . as soon as If she woke Kaiba, she didn't care; from what Joey said, and from what she had witnessed at Battle City, he was neither the most polite nor the most pleasant fellow.

-V-

Kaiba, having just successfully learned how to change a diaper (a chore unbecoming of the CEO of a major technology company), was feeling a strange sense of accomplishment as he picked up the ringing phone. "Kaiba," he said in a tone much less surly than usual.

"Hi…Kaiba? This is Serenity Wheeler," said the voice at the other end. "Yeah, I just got the message you, or rather your assistant I suppose, left. Anyway, he said that you had something important to discuss?"

Feeling satisfied at so quickly reaching the girl, Kaiba said pleasantly, "Yes, I have something important to talk to you about. Considering the circumstances, though, I'd rather not discuss this over the phone. I expect you at the Kaiba mansion in half an hour. My driver will be by to pick you up shortly." He hung up the phone, not being one to waste time or words on unnecessary pleasantries.

Serenity stared at the phone, more than a little angry. What right did he have to _order_ her over to his house without _telling_ her anything? If it had been any other guy, Serenity would have been somewhat wary of going to his house alone at night. But Kaiba lusted over Duel Monster cards, not people, so Serenity didn't worry about her personal safety. What _did_ worry her was how she was going to get out of the house at 10:30 at night with Joey watching over her like a mother hen.

She stuck her head into Joey's room, preparing a lie she hoped would get her out of the house. But she smiled when she saw her brother sprawled out on his floor, snoring, a puddle of drool forming under his mouth. _Excellent_, she thought, _he'll be out for a few hours, at the very least. He sleeps like the dead, and wakes just as easily._ She went back to her room to straighten up, awaiting the arrival of Kaiba's chauffeur.

-V-

"Thank you, sir," said Serenity, bowing to the driver before hopping out of the car. The palatial mansion in front of her was a bit intimidating, but it didn't stop her from marching up the walkway to the towering front door. She rang the bell, and waited impatiently, looking forward to telling Kaiba off for his rude behavior on the phone.

The door was opened by an older man in butler livery. He looked at Serenity with pity and said, "You are Miss Wheeler? Yes, Mr. Kaiba is waiting for you in the nursery. I'll show you there." He headed up the grand staircase, and Serenity followed, thinking wildly about what the man had just said.

The nursery! But you only have a nursery if you have a baby, and I really _don't see Kaiba as the caring, paternal type… so why on_ Earth_ does he have a baby? Could this have anything to do with the woman I broke my promise to? She was supposed to have a baby. Could she be connected to Kaiba in some way? But she said she was all alone…_

really Earth 

"Here we are, Miss," said the servant. "And good luck." He left quite abruptly and Serenity, after hesitating, opened the door. She was greeted with, "Didn't anyone ever tell you to _knock_ on a door before _barreling_ in?"

She spat back at Kaiba, "Didn't anyone ever tell _you_ to say 'please' when commanding someone to come to your house at 11 o'clock at night?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Look, let's just get this over with. I don't want you defiling my carpet any longer than you must." He smirked. That would teach _her_ to lecture him.

Serenity gritted her teeth. "I know you didn't order me to come over so you could throw stupid insults at me. Now will you _please_ just tell me why I'm here?"

"You are here because you have been chosen by a deranged Egyptian woman to be the godmother to her baby. When she had her baby she died, and now you are the legal mother of the baby, and I am the legal father." He watched for her reaction to the news, but was surprised to see that she was biting her lip, and tears were pooling in her eyes. He wondered, remotely, if he shouldn't have been quite so blunt.

Serenity was shocked. _I am the mother to her baby?_ She bit her lip. _But I broke my promise. I wasn't there to support the poor woman, and she _died_, and left her baby an orphan._ Tears filled her eyes. _If I had been there, I could have given her hope, or support, or _something_, and she might not have died. But I _wasn't_ there, and she died, and left her baby to complete strangers._

Kaiba hated it when people cried, and Serenity was two seconds away from bawling. He procured some tissues from his pocket, and handed them to her, hoping she would take the hint and not get all emotional on him.

Serenity dried her eyes and softly blew her nose, then asked, "May I see the baby, Kaiba?"

Kaiba gestured over to the crib, where an elderly woman was holding a pink bundle. The woman handed Serenity the bundle, and Serenity proceeded to study the baby in her arms. "Well, Kaiba, she could almost be your biological child. She definitely has your eyes, only not so cruel."

"What?" asked Kaiba, ignoring the snide comment. He walked over to see the girl more closely. For the first time that night she had opened her eyes, and Kaiba saw striking sapphire blue staring up at him. Reluctantly, he felt his bond with this orphan grow stronger, and he longed to take the precious baby out of the Wheeler girl's arms and hold her. "It's just a coincidence," he said, though personally he wondered if maybe it was more than just that.

"Of course, Kaiba, of course," said Serenity skeptically, seeing through Kaiba's denial. "By the way, what is her name?"

"Well, I had intended to let you name her. Women love silly stuff like that." He paused, then added, "I don't care."

"I resent that sexist generalization, Kaiba, but at least now I know you won't screw it up. Let's see… how about Sakura?" she suggested.

"Are you kidding? Sakura Kaiba sounds awful. Too many 'K's."

"Who says she'll be a Kaiba? Maybe she'd rather be a Wheeler! 'Sakura Wheeler' sounds pretty good to me," replied Serenity huffily.

"Her father is a Kaiba. Therefore, she will be one as well."

More suggested names, and more heated rebuttals from Kaiba left Serenity nearly at her wits' end. "I though you _didn't care_!" she nearly shouted.

"Your suggestions are inane. I had assumed you had better taste."

"Well then, what _do_ you recommend!"

"I would like to name her Rei. It sounds good and is not overly flamboyant," said Kaiba.

"Well, maybe I think Rei is a boring and dull name!" replied Serenity, who actually liked the name Rei but didn't want Kaiba to know it.

"Well, your suggestions are unacceptable, so I must insist that she be named Rei," said Kaiba.

"Hmph," pouted Serenity, reluctantly pleased with the decision. _Rei, I failed your mother. But I swear that I will not fail you. I'll protect you, from Kaiba and from the world. I owe that much to you._ Serenity resolved to make up for her wrongdoing by being the best mother she possibly could be. But at the age of 17, and still in school, and living with Joey in his modest apartment, Serenity wondered how well she would do. "Kaiba, I don't know if I can take care of Rei. I'm still in school, and I have a part-time job. And I don't think Joey would be too pleased."

"I do more work in one day than you do all week. I am the _CEO_ of Kaiba Corp, to refresh your memory. I have _zero_ time for childcare. And I really don't care what your mutt of a brother thinks."

Serenity was incensed by the cruel remark. "Well, Mr. _C-E-O_, I _cannot_ take Rei to school with me, and I _cannot_ take her to my job! They don't like babies in fancy restaurants, you know."

"You expect me to take her to work with _me_? Do you have any idea what that would do to my reputation with my business partners? They will not take me seriously if I'm sitting there, _burping_ a child while attempting to give a revenues report!"

Miro decided that this would be a good time to step in. "Mr. Kaiba, depending on how generous you are with my _pay_ this month, I could probably find time in my busy schedule to care for Rei during the day. You will care for her at nights, seeing as how she already has a room and furniture here at the mansion, and you, Miss Serenity, may watch her during weekends. That is the solution. If you two would like to make alternative arrangements, you may do so like mature, responsible adults. I will put up with no more of this childish bickering!" Having said her piece, she stepped back, happy to see the two looking properly chastised.

Serenity was the first to speak. "Well, that arrangement suits me, providing that I can convince Joey. Now, if you'll excuse me, it is getting quite late, and I think it would be best if I got home before my brother wakes and finds me missing." She kissed Rei on the forehead, then, with obvious reluctance, handed her over to Kaiba. "Call me later so we can discuss the details."

"Fine. Umake, show Miss Wheeler to the limo," directed Kaiba. After they left, Kaiba looked at Rei, who was lying in his arms, looking up at him innocently and sucking her thumb.

He gently pulled the thumb out of her mouth. "A Kaiba does not suck her thumb," he reprimanded. She looked at him sadly, through the eyes he was so used to seeing in the mirror every morning, though as Serenity had remarked, Rei's were infinitely more compassionate. But there was more than just compassion - there was wisdom and understanding, remarkable for one her age. There was just no getting past that fact, and it was affecting Kaiba more than he would like to admit. "I'm sorry you're sad, but you're a Kaiba, and cannot persist with a silly habit like sucking your thumb. It's undignified."

He frowned after realizing that these words would have been very likely to come out of the cruel and unfeeling mouth of Gozaburo Kaiba. His mind reeled, and he thought, _No. I REFUSE to become like Gozaburo! I may not be the nicest person but I am NOT the monster he was! And I refuse to become that way!_

He looked down at the sad girl in his arms, and said, "I'm sorry. I would like for you to stop sucking your thumb, but if you continue, I promise I won't beat you like Gozaburo would have."

She smiled at him, then yawned loudly. Amazed at the time, Kaiba decided that it was Rei's bedtime. As he was putting her in her crib, he noticed a dark tuft of hair slip out from underneath her hat. Out of curiosity (_Should babies have hair at only a week old? _he pondered), he gently pulled off her hat revealing a large amount of raven-black hair. _It's just like Mokuba's,_ he thought, reeling. _This girl has my eyes and Mokuba's hair. This can _not_ be a mere coincidence._ He was surprised, and a little scared, of the fact that the baby looked so like a Kaiba. _It's almost as if it were meant to be,_ he thought, dumbfounded. Then, W_hat am I saying! That is completely ridiculous! This is not a fairy tale, with magic and nonsense like that._

The phone rang, jerking him out of his reverie. He checked his watch. It was nearly midnight, so who the hell would be calling so late?

"Kaiba," he said as his salutation.

The other person didn't even bother with a greeting, but even so, Kaiba could tell that it was Dr. Takenouchi. She said, "Kaiba, we need you down here at the hospital." She paused awkwardly, then added, "It's time for you to say goodbye."

Kaiba stared at the phone, horrified, then threw it as hard as he could at the wall where it broke into a hundred pieces. But Kaiba was already out the door, racing to the hospital and to his dying brother.

**V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V**


	6. e m o t i o n

may 27, 2004 

**-V-**

**chapter 06**

****

**e m o t i o n**

"Dammit, where is that driver?!" yelled Kaiba in frustration, a little louder than necessary.

"He's taking Miss Serenity home, like _you_ ordered," replied Miro from the other room.

"Fuck this, I'll just drive myself," snarled Kaiba. Ten minutes later, he was speeding down the road in his Ferrari, disregarding all the other honking drivers, his mind focused on only one thing. **Get. To. Mokuba.**

"And please hurry. If you don't, it will probably be too late for you to say goodbye."

"Hurry…"

"Too late…"

"Say goodbye…"

Kaiba sped on towards his destination.

**-V-**

The sliding doors of the hospital were forced open, and a figure in a black trench coat raced through the lobby, heading for room 10622. For not the first time, unfortunate patients were shoved out of the way as the blur sped down the hall.

Kaiba sprinted, running into people and objects hapless enough to be in his way. "MOVE OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY!" he shouted, scaring doctors and patients alike.

From down the hall, he could see the large Yamato and the petite Dr. Takenouchi standing outside Mokuba's room. They appeared to be in deep conversation, and then Yamato wrapped the doctor in a large, enveloping hug. At Kaiba's clangorous approach, they pulled apart rather quickly. But Kaiba didn't notice this. What he did notice was that the doctor, so stone-like and unemotional, had tears coursing down her cheeks, and her eyes were extremely bloodshot. It was this omen that told Kaiba all he needed to know.

"Let me in," he said quietly.

"Mr. Kaiba," said Takenouchi in a tremulous voice, "I'm not sure—"

"_Let_ me _in_," said Kaiba more assertively.

"But you see, the hospital—"

"_What_ don't you under_stand_?" shouted Kaiba, whose voice reverberated through the nearly empty hall. "LET ME IN THE FUCKING ROOM!"

Yamato stared down at Kaiba. "You don't talk to her that way!"

"I'll TALK to her any fucking WAY I WANT! Let me in the goddamn room, or I'll kick your ass!" This statement, comical because of its impossibility, was dead serious coming from the raging CEO.

"Just let him in, Matt," said Takenouchi softly. "He'll have to go in sooner or later…" Yamato moved aside, leaving the door free for Kaiba to pass through.

But Kaiba wasn't so sure he wanted to get into that room anymore. While outside, he could still cling to the idealistic hope that Mokuba would be okay. But once he passed through that door, and saw the truth with his own eyes, he would be forced to realize that life didn't always have a happy ending, and that sometimes the most innocent were punished in the most horrible ways for no discernible reason. Kaiba knew that the world was harsh and unrelenting in its cruelty, but he had so naïvely hoped that it would be benevolent enough to give him and Mokuba a happy ending.

I should have known that it wouldn't be all okay, he thought bitterly, stepping through that fateful door.

The first thing he noticed was the silence. None of the usual machines were humming and whirring. There wasn't the buzz or clank of some device fulfilling its purpose. But what was most significantly missing was the _beep beep beep_ of the heart monitor telling Kaiba that his brother's heart still beat. It was this particular ominous silence that was so pressing in the tomb-quiet room.

The second thing Kaiba noticed was how spacious the room was. The lack of life-support machinery gave the room much more floorspace, making the hospital bed and its unfortunate inhabitant look especially small.

Kaiba tiptoed over to the bed, as if he were afraid of waking his brother. "Mokuba?" he asked tentatively, and fearfully. "Mokuba, are you asleep?"

Takenouchi was overcome with another bout of crying, and Yamato had to lead her away from the room.

Kaiba sat in a chair next to Mokuba's bed. He took Mokuba's hand in his, and found it unnaturally cold and limp. He held the hand to his heart, trying to warm it, willing life into it.

"Mokuba," he said, "now is the time when you're supposed to open your eyes, and say, 'Seto, you came to say goodbye!' You're supposed to wake up so we can say our farewells one last time."

Mokuba's eyes remained closed, and his lungs remained devoid of the breath it took to speak.

"It's like in all the stories I once told you," he continued, his voice catching in his throat. "The hero comes to visit the dying character, and the character miraculously comes to life and says, 'I knew you would be here for me. I knew you would say goodbye.' And then the hero reassures the character that everything's going to be fine, and because the hero loves the character, the character recovers, and everything _is_ fine. And the ending is always happy."

Mokuba remained unmoving.

"Mokuba, I love you more than any hero in any story _ever_ loved another character. Ever since you were born, I've loved you more than anything else in my life. All those hours I spent working, I _should_ have been spending time with you, showing you how special you are to me. I should have spent every precious second with you, because now I realize that we can _never_ recover the time we lost. And now that we _have_ no more time… I've realized what a bad brother I've been."

He paused, hoping with all his heart that he would see _some_ sign of life from his brother. But none came.

"Oh God, Mokuba, OH GOD, PLEASE! I'm asking you with every fiber of my heart! PLEASE, _PLEASE_ wake up! I _need_ to be able to say goodbye to you! I _need_ to tell you that I love you, and I _need_ you to tell me that you love me too!" His voice was husky with despondency, and he bowed his head, Mokuba's hand on his lap.

"Goodbye, Mokuba. I'll love you forever."

Several tears fell from his deep blue eyes onto the limp, lifeless hand.

Several more followed.

_I have learned to cry. I have broken the emotional barrier that surrounded my heart, and I have learned how to feel again. But what a price it has come at…  
_

**-V-**

It was a clear, warm night. Rain would have been more appropriate weather, rain and wind and a chill in the air, but no one had informed the weather gods of this. And so it was an unusually pleasant night for that time of the year.

At a particularly high cliff overlooking the ocean, a dark blue Ferrari was parked. Several feet away stood a young man in a black trench coat.

If any onlookers had been present, they would have seen the young man walk to the very edge of the cliff. Then they would have seen him pull from his pocket two objects.

Kaiba glanced down at the locket and silver whistle in his hand for a moment, and then threw them. They seemed to hang in the air, suspended, for a moment, before they fell, down and down, spinning around and around through the night sky, until they finally landed with a splash in the turbid ocean water.

As the objects plunged, Kaiba felt a part of him plunge with them. He felt a part of him sink down, deeper and deeper, in the crushing black ocean water.

Kaiba might have taken that fateful plunge himself. He might have thrown himself off the cliff, and spun and spun until he hit the water. Then he would have sunk below the surface, deeper and deeper into the inky blackness, until the breath burst from his throat and the saltwater entered his lungs. Then he would have been lost to the world that caused his so much pain, and suffering, and turmoil. Kaiba might have taken the plunge to end his pain.

But he didn't.

**-V-**

The clock in the car read **3:30 am** by the time he pulled it into the garage. Kaiba sincerely hoped that all the hired staff had gone to bed; he didn't feel like answering questions, or explaining why he had run out so quickly. He didn't feel like being with anyone at the moment.

Or did he? Instead of taking the staircase to his bedroom, as usual, he found his feet carrying him through the meandering halls to the nursery.

As he walked into the room, he was met, not with the sounds of peaceful breathing, as he expected, but with the sounds of crying. This surprised Kaiba, who had seen nothing but excellent behavior from Rei all night.

He considered going to Miro and telling her that Rei was fussing, but of all the people in the mansion, Miro was the person he wanted to talk to the least. She would be full of nosy questions, and Kaiba was not in the mood to be interrogated.

He went over to the crib, and carefully picked up Rei. Her cries stopped, and she looked up at him, her jet black hair accenting her beautiful, wide, sapphire-blue eyes. She was only a week old, but Kaiba felt as if she was looking past his own blue eyes and into his soul, with a gaze reminiscent to that of her mother's.

_Look at you, Daddy Seto,_ sneered that voice inside his head_. You have just been at the hospital to say farewell to your dead brother, and already you're ignoring him so that you can moon over this little charity case! He was your own flesh and blood, and you're ignoring him in favor of this nobody?! It's sickening._

Kaiba thought about this, and then reached a conclusion that he had not considered before. _There's nothing more I can do for Mokuba. But Rei needs me. And I need her._

She reached out one tiny fist, and grabbed a handful of Kaiba's trench coat. She settled down in his arms, wiggling around until she was comfortable. Then, with a contented sigh, she closed her eyes and proceeded to fall asleep.

She looked so peaceful in his arms that Kaiba didn't want to disturb her by removing her. Instead, he sat down on the bed in the far corner of the room, his back against the headboard and his legs stretched out in front of him.

He pulled the peaceful bundle closer, thinking. _My brother, you have passed on to a better place. There is nothing more I can do for you. I will join you someday, I promise. But I can not yet. There is more I must do in this lifetime. I tried to show you love and kindness, Mokie, but it was not enough. I have learned from my mistakes of the past, and I have learned just how important it is to show the ones you love how much they mean to you, and just how special they are._

He stopped for a minute, then said softly, "Rei, I will show you how special you are to me. I will never let anything bad happen to you. And I mean that with all my heart." He had failed once, but the proud Kaiba blood coursing through his veins made him determined to protect the baby he had grown so attached to so quickly.

Ten minutes' time found both Kaiba and Rei fast asleep. Kaiba had slid down, and was now lying on the bed, holding Rei protectively to his chest, as if to shield her from the cruelty of the world. Rei slept soundly, knowing that she was well protected from any harm that could befall her. Blue-eyed father and blue-eyed daughter lay there, brought together by tragedy and turmoil. But in their respective dreamlands, their terrors were banished, and they slept on serenely through the night.

**-V-**

**END OF PART I**

**-V-**


	7. d i p l o m a c y

june 14, 2004

**-V-**

**chapter 07**

**d i p l o m a c y**

The shopkeeper looked up enthusiastically as the bell above the door sounded. There hadn't been any customers that Friday, and business in general had not been good. The man needed to ensnare any prey, or rather, customers, that walked through the door.

He hurried over to greet the young couple that had just entered. "Hello, hello!" he said enthusiastically. "Welcome to **I Love You, Baby**, the special store for all your baby's special needs! We have a good deal on Gucci baby booties, and if you'll look over to your left, there is a lovely assortment of Ethan Allen cribs and changing tables."

Serenity whispered to Kaiba, "Isn't this all a little _extravagant_ for a _baby_? _I_'ve never owned anything Gucci."

"That is because you live in a cesspool, with a dog masquerading as your brother. _I_, however, want Rei to have the best money can buy, and I have rather a lot of money to spend on the best. I would rather my daughter not feel as if she was raised in the slums."

"You know, Kaiba, we're going to have to go talk to Joey later, and you could at least _try_ to be somewhat diplomatic. And I agree, Rei needs the best you can buy her." Serenity started looking around in interest at all the brand-name baby products, from Kate Spade diaper bags to Mercedes-Benz strollers.

They left the boutique some time later, Rei sucking on her new Tiffany's pacifier. Before they had gotten very far from the store (walking, at Serenity's insistence), she turned to Kaiba, and looked up at him seriously. "I'm not too proud to admit it when someone does an enormous favor for me. So I just thought that I should thank you for all the baby furniture I wouldn't have been able to afford." Her words were sincere, though the look she gave Kaiba made it clear that she was rather reluctant to be in his debt.

"You're welcome, Wheeler," said Kaiba stiffly. This statement was so against his condescending nature that, after a brief and awkward silence, he added, "but I didn't want my daughter sleeping in a cardboard box on your kitchen table. I didn't want her to catch the poverty germs that live in your…residence."

**-V-**

"How a human being can live in a place like this is beyond my comprehension." The building was even worse than he had imagined, and he had imagined _bad_.

"Listen, Kaiba," said Serenity exasperatedly. "Your remarks were somewhat poignant and cruel the first time, but now all you're doing is annoying me. And _not_ because my feelings are hurt. You need new material, Kaiba. The stuff you have is getting old."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, promising nothing to the irritated girl.

"And when we go in," she continued, "could you _please_ keep your mouth shut? If you start insulting Joey, the two of you will get in a big fight and I'll just stand there and laugh as he knocks your teeth out."

I would be more than a match for that weak Puppy, Kaiba thought, but grunted his compliance with her request. The two entered the somewhat dilapidated apartment complex (Kaiba kept his pristine black coat well away from the dingy walls), and proceeded up the two flights of stairs to the Wheelers' apartment.

Serenity passed the baby carrier to Kaiba while she searched her pockets for her key. The two had decided that bringing Rei along would help them to better explain the unusual circumstances to Joey. Serenity knew that the idea alone might be too difficult for Joey to understand, but if she brought along living, breathing proof, he might not be so irritated at the idea of the baby of his sister and worst enemy.

Actually, when Joey found out that the father of Serenity's baby was Kaiba, he was going to flip out.

Serenity let the trio into the apartment, calling "Joey?" somewhat hesitantly. Upon receiving no answer, she entered into the living room/dining room, and invited Kaiba to sit down on the couch. "I'm going to put Rei in my room, because seeing you will be startling enough, and seeing Rei will just about give Joey a heart attack. Now sit!" she commanded, bringing Rei to her room.

"I'll stand, if it's all the same to you," he said, looking at the couch suspiciously, as if he was expecting to see lice crawling around on its hairy surface.

"Whatever," she replied, returning. _Let him be uncomfortable_, she thought uncharitably. "You want something to drink?"

"Only if you have imported spring water from the Swiss Alps."

"Hmph." She went to the kitchen, got a soda, and sat at the small table, pulling out a math homework.

Every so often, she would look up to observe the tall CEO. While Kaiba walked around the room, contemplating the family pictures on the table, and the other decorations on the walls, Serenity contemplated _him_. She couldn't understand him. The night that she had been over at his house had been the night his younger brother had died (it was front-page news of the Domino Times the next morning). Serenity had thought Kaiba would be devastated; after all, if Joey had died, she would have been beside herself. Yet Kaiba was the same arrogant bastard he had been that night; it was almost as if he were in denial.

Little did Serenity know that that night, Kaiba had come to grips with the fact that Mokuba was dead. Kaiba knew that, though he would not get to see his little brother again, Mokuba was not in pain, and not suffering anymore, and he knew that he had to focus on his daughter now and not dwell on the past.

To be sure, he had been appropriately sad and gloomy at the funeral, but inside he had achieved a sort of nirvana, and though the memories had at times been rough, Kaiba had quickly learned to deal. Considering that he had discovered emotion, true emotion, only two weeks ago, Kaiba was dealing magnificently.

Or maybe, thought Serenity, _there is a difference. Every time he looks at Rei, he gets this look on his face that I could never have imagined there. It's almost as if he's revealing his, if he even has one, soft and tender side._ She snorted. The idea seemed implausible, but then again, there was much about him that she didn't know.

thought Serenity, She snorted. The idea seemed implausible, but then again, there was much about him that she didn't know. 

An hour later found Kaiba still on his feet, going for his 17th circuit around the small room. He was completely and utterly bored, waiting for the Mutt. "Wheeler, when is your brother supposed to be here?"

Serenity looked up from her homework. "He got off work half an hour ago. Usually he comes right home, but if he decided to stop somewhere, then I don't know. It's not as if you have better things to be doing."

Kaiba almost laughed out loud at the statement; he was the CEO of a company of incompetent bunglers, and had to oversee them all or they'd fail miserably. Taking the afternoon off to go shopping hadn't exactly helped either. He had a million little things that needed to be done, including that matter with N-Tech and that bastard Harrison.

Kaiba was off on another trip around the room, thinking of all the vicious ways he could kill that man, when he heard footsteps outside in the hall, and then the sound of someone fumbling with a set of keys. _Showtime_, he thought.

He stood in his usual crossed-arms pose and watched as Serenity went to open the door for her brother. He was eager to see the Mutt's reaction to his presence.

Joey was juggling two bags of groceries as he fumbled for his keys. _Darn locked doors… they should be easier to open. _He was somewhat surprised to see Serenity open the door for him; usually, she was focused on doing something else.

"Hi big brother!" she squealed, hoping to be able to talk to him before he entered into the room and saw Kaiba.

"Hey Serenity," he replied, pushing past her before she could stop him. It was a good thing he knew the house so well; his vision was obscured by the two grocery bags in his arms, and he had to rely on instinct to make it to the tiny kitchen.

Depositing the bags on the counter, he turned to see Serenity blocking his way out the door. She looked serious, and said, "Now Joey, don't be alarmed—"

"Alarmed? Serenity, what happened?! Are you okay? Is everyone okay?" Did something break—"

"No, no," said Serenity hurriedly. "Nothing like that. Actually, I wanted to warn you that we have company over—"

"Warn me?" asked Joey suspiciously. "You don't have your _boyfriend_ over, do you?"

"Not likely," sneered a voice that Joey knew all too well.

"KAIBA!" yelled Joey. "Serenity, what is KAIBA doing in our living room?" He tried to push past Serenity, eager to get at the disdainful CEO.

"Joey, wait!" said Serenity firmly, not letting him out of the kitchen. "_I_ invited Kaiba here because I, or rather we, have something to discuss with you."

Joey's legs gave out beneath him, and he fell on his butt on the tiled kitchen floor. He looked up at Serenity, alarmed. "Oh my holy god… _please_ do not tell me that you two are getting married because he… knocked you up…" He winced, assuming the worst.

Kaiba's raucous laughter echoed from the other room. "You know, Pup, you've almost got it half right!"

Serenity glared daggers at Kaiba. "You know, you are _not_ helping the situation!" She barely restrained Joey, who was fighting to get at Kaiba and yelling, "I'LL KILL YOU, ASSHOLE!"

Serenity grabbed Joey's head in a way that always made him calm, and said very quietly, "Now Joey, _please_ don't get angry at Kaiba. Just be reasonable. For my sake."

Joey grumbled. "Fine, but _he_ better not mess with _me_!"

-V-

"So, lemme get this straight," said Joey, after Serenity was done explaining. "You and…him…are the godparents of some dead woman's baby? And she's gonna be living with us?"

"Partially, Joey. She'll spend the week at Kaiba's house and the weekends with us. I figured that it'd be better to just tell you, than try and keep it a secret."

"Damn straight," asserted Joey. "I think I have a right to know when my baby sister's getting mixed up with guys like you, Kaiba."

"For your information, Wheeler," spoke up Kaiba for the first time, "it is none of your business, and the only reason she's telling you is that you happen to live with her. I'd prefer to keep my daughter away from you."

"Well, I think that if you keep her, Kaiba, she'll go psycho-sadistic just the way you are."

"Listen to you two," said Serenity in disgust, interrupting the argument. "You sound exactly the way you did four years ago at that silly tournament. You were little boys then, and from the way you're behaving now, you haven't matured at all." The two men looked at each other, somewhat chastised. Their behavior was rather juvenile…

"Now, I want you both to shake hands, and declare a truce. I want you to agree to disagree, and I want this to be the end of these silly spats."

Kaiba felt déja-vu, as this command was very similar to the one Miro had given them not long ago. The CEO did not _feel _young and immature, but the words of his maid and of Serenity made him reevaluate his actions. Looking back, he supposed they were a bit young and cheap for one of his level.

He stuck out a hand, as did Joey, and the two looked each other in the eyes and shook firmly.

"Good," continued Serenity. "Now that that's over, Joey, let me introduce you to Rei."

She went away, and Joey took the opportunity to whisper fiercely to Kaiba, "It sounds that Serenity's going to be hanging around with you a lot, and as much as I don't like that, there's nothing I can do. But if you upset her in any way…"

"Good god, I think you're carrying the "overprotective older brother" role a bit too far, Wheeler…"

Joey gave Kaiba a smoldering glare, but Serenity returned with Rei, and Joey took an instant liking to his little niece, and all thought of ill will towards Kaiba drifted away. "Wow, Serenity, she's adorable!" he exclaimed as Rei looked at him with her soft blue eyes and gurgled happily. He picked her up, and said caringly, "Hi, Rei, I'm your Uncle Joey!"

Kaiba nearly retched at the putrid tone Joey had adopted, but he understood the devotion Joey was showing to the baby; after all, she was very sweet and extremely well behaved, and (thought Kaiba never thought he'd use the word) quite adorable. Watching Joey fawn over Rei made Kaiba's protective paternal instincts kick in, and he wanted to snatch Rei away from Joey, afraid that Joey might drop her, or something equally heinous.

Half an hour later, Kaiba looked at his watch and said, "Well, this has been pleasant and all, but I have stuff to do tonight, so I'm afraid we have to leave."

"You can leave her with me, Kaiba, you've had her for two weeks now. I'll watch her tonight. I'm supposed to anyway. It's a weekend."

A silence followed. In all honesty, Kaiba didn't want to leave Rei with Serenity. He enjoyed taking care of her at night, and he didn't think Serenity would know how. But on the other hand, he _did_ have stuff he needed to do, and as much as he loved to take care of Rei, and play with her and feed her and wash her, he was a bit behind on what he needed to do. Perhaps a night of work was the best thing at the time.

"Fine, Wheeler, but you _better_ not put her in a cardboard box!" threatened Kaiba.

"Of course not, Kaiba. I have a _lovely_ drawer in my room, and it's not too full right now…" She faltered under his furious glare, and added, "It was a _joke_, Kaiba. You need to work on your sense of humor. Don't worry, she'll be fine."

She took Rei out of Joey's arms, and held her up to Kaiba's level. "Now kiss Daddy goodnight, Rei," she said.

Surprising all three of the adults, Rei leaned forward and gave Kaiba a big kiss on the cheek. Joey grimaced (_Imagine kissing **Kaiba**_, he thought with disgust), and Serenity's eyes widened in surprised, but Kaiba was frozen in his shock. _Nobody has kissed me for as long as I can remember. Mokuba was more a hugger, and Gozaburo…hah._

To his extreme embarrassment, he felt tears well up in his eyes at the touching gesture. Kaiba's old training resurfaced, and he thought to himself, _NO WAY! I REFUSE to cry in front of the Mutt! Only wimps like Yugi cry! And I am NOT a wimp!_ Kaiba hastily gave Rei a kiss on the forehead, then turned and made his way out the door, swiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

Joey looked at Serenity, bewilderment evident on his face. "Was Kaiba _crying_?" he asked.

"I think he was, Joey." Serenity smiled down at Rei, who smiled back up at her. Seto Kaiba, arrogant President and CEO of Kaiba Corp, _did_ have an emotional and tender side to him after all.

-V-

After waiting 10 minutes outside the building (and trying to conceal his face, lest anyone should recognise him as the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation), Kaiba was picked up by one of the limos.

Sitting in the back, Kaiba stared moodily out the tinted window, wiping his eyes now and then to rid them of those infernal tears. He was thinking about Rei. Specifically, he was thinking about how one kiss on the cheek from her could reduce him to tears. Granted, she was his baby, but even Mokuba's kidnapping by Pegasus had not elicited anything more than anger and vengeance. The thought of leaving Rei had made Kaiba cry, and he was confused by his reaction.

Before, he had channeled his emotions of sadness or depression into anger and cruelty, and he did not understand what it was to feel despair. The first time he had felt that deeply had been the night Mokuba died, and that event seemed to have opened a wound in Kaiba that had long been scabbed over. Now the wound was open, and fresh, and extra-sensitive, as Kaiba felt emotion long-surpressed.

He didn't want to dwell on these unhappy thoughts, but he was all alone in the limo and Rei's absence was apparent. Kaiba decided to do something he'd never done before.

"Driver," he spoke over the intercom, "roll down the window, I want to talk."

The nervous driver rolled down the window, wondering what he'd done to receive a berating from Mr. Kaiba. But once the window was down, he was shocked to see Kaiba's teary eyes, and said, "Would you like my handkerchief, Mr. Kaiba?" Inwardly, he winced at this offer; he thought that maybe he should have kept his mouth closed about the CEO's unconventional appearance.

Kaiba ignored the offer. Instead he asked, in a voice not like his usual one, "Do you have any children?"

"Why, yes I do, sir. Three of them. A daughter and two sons."

"And do you love them?"

"Why, Mr. Kaiba!" exclaimed the driver with surprise. "What a question! Of course I love them! Any parent that doesn't love their children has something terribly wrong with them."

"Do you miss them when they're away?"

The driver wondered where this conversation was going. "Of course, sir. Last week, my daughter went on a class trip, and I called her _every night_ to make sure she was okay."

"But did you feel… feel as if…" Kaiba trailed off. He couldn't describe how he was feeling. He didn't have the words for it. "Never mind. I'm being foolish."

Kaiba looked back out the window. They were nearing the mansion, about two miles away. In the day's fading light, Kaiba saw a person walking along the side of the road. The figure's fluffy white hair instantly revealed his identity: it was Ryou Bakura, presumably heading to the Kaiba mansion to visit his grandmother.

"Stop here, driver," ordered Kaiba, and the limo pulled up alongside Ryou. Ryou looked over, startled, and Kaiba could see fear in his eyes. He wondered why Ryou was _walking_ all the way to the Kaiba Mansion when he had seen him drive before, and he wondered why the white-haired young man was visiting so late. Usually, he visited his grandmother in the late morning.

Kaiba rolled down the window, and said (feeling extremely charitable), "Bakura, my driver will drive you up to the mansion."

Normally, Ryou would have felt bad accepting the ride when he was perfectly capable of walking. But the quicker he got to the Mansion and spoke with his grandmother, the better. He didn't know how long Bakura would be gone, and he did not want to be gone when Bakura got back home. "Thank you, Kaiba," he said, getting in the limo quickly.

Kaiba, sitting across from the white-haired young man, noticed the way Ryou was hiding his face behind his white hair, and also noticed the way Ryou was fidgeting nervously with his hands.

Ryou, not wanting Kaiba to get suspicious, said, "So, Kaiba, did you read the paper this morning? There's to be a museum exhibit on ancient Egypt, and the Millennium Items, and the history of Duel Monsters. It looks to be quite fascinating."

Ryou's trying to bring up Duel Monsters as a distraction didn't fool Kaiba one bit. He knew there was something wrong with the white-haired young man, but despite his curiosity, he was not one to pry in others' personal matters.

"I hear they have some unusual carvings depicting the earliest Shadow Games," said Ryou again, trying for one last attempt at conversation. Then he was silent for the remainder of the ride, and when the limo pulled into the circular driveway of the Mansion, Ryou got out quickly, with a mumbled "thank you", and hurried inside.

Kaiba followed the white-haired one inside, and went up to his office to get started on his business affairs. _Well,_ he thought, _if I really want to know what the problem is, I can always use my microphones._

**-V-**

It was 4 am before Kaiba decided that he might need some sleep. He closed down his computer, stacked his papers, and staggered down the hall to his bedroom on the top floor.

Once securely under his covers, and with the lights out, Kaiba's mind began to wander, and of course it was quite predictable the subject it chose to focus on.

I bet those two incompetent fools have dropped her on her head, and are too stupid and poor to do anything about it. I bet they heated up her bottle too much, and it burned her and she's crying. I bet they put her in a drawer, and closed it, and now she's suffocating in the Mutt's dirty underwear. That last thought was so utterly horrid, it made Kaiba want to cry.

Well, the Mutt would be stupid enough to do those things, but as for Serenity…? She **is** more responsible than her dumb Dog.

Still, I hope Rei is okay.


	8. i n t e r l u d e

july 07, 2004

**-V-**

**chapter 08**

**i n t e r l u d e**

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

The heavy knocks on the door jolted Serenity out of her peaceful sleep. She opened her eyes and gazed blearily at her alarm clock. **6:50 am**

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

With a groan, Serenity pushed herself out of her bed, and staggered out into the living room, to the front door. Looking out through the peephole (one could never be too cautious in this neighborhood), she opened the door to Kaiba.

"Kaiba, don't you think it's a bit _early_ for an excursion?" she whined, irritated. Usually their Saturday excursions started at a more _reasonable_ time of day.

"We have a long way to go before we get there," he replied. "I don't want to spend most of the day in the helicopter."

Serenity raised her eyebrows. The helicopter? The only vehicle they ever took was Kaiba's limo. Why would a helicopter be needed to get where they were going?

"So don't take forever getting ready, or we won't get there," finished Kaiba. He stood there, impatiently, as if expecting her to instantly comply with his command.

"Kaiba, you know that I have to have my coffee and read the paper before I do anything else," said Serenity.

"I have coffee and the paper in the limo, now hurry up," said Kaiba impatiently. He had been aware of this annoying morning routine of Serenity's, and had come prepared to ensure a quick departure.

Finding nothing she could argue with, Serenity went to her room to get ready. Twenty minutes later she reappeared, carrying Rei in the backpack-style baby carrier. Rei gurgled happily upon seeing Kaiba standing in the doorway. Then, after leaving a note for Joey (who could and would sleep through nearly anything), the three exited the building and hopped into Kaiba's limo, which would take them to the Mansion.

"Mmm," said Serenity after taking a sip of the fine imported coffee. _This is so much better than the usual coffee, but I would never tell Kaiba that. Though he **has** seemed to tone the insults down in the past few weeks, but there's no sense in giving out material for him to use._ She took another sip of the coffee, and read the headline of the paper.

BREAK IN AT DOMINO MUSEUM. Several valuable artifacts stolen. Culprit remains at-large. The headline looked interesting enough, so Serenity read that article, and then several other articles as well.

While Serenity read, Kaiba played with Rei, who was getting bigger and livelier. One of her favorite activities was 'story time', so Kaiba always had a book tucked into a pocket of his trench coat.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of reason, it was the age of madness…" he read to her. Though Rei didn't understand a word of the book (and even Kaiba had to admit that he was somewhat confused), she still sat quietly and attentively as Kaiba read in his gruff tone.

"Sir, we have arrived at the mansion," said the driver as he pulled up to the front door. He was the same driver whom Kaiba had questioned weeks earlier, and now that he saw the tenderness Kaiba had towards the small girl, he understood what had been going through Kaiba's head.

Kaiba stuck the book back in his pocket, and scooped up Rei and the carrier, leaving Serenity to catch up.

-V-

"So, Kaiba, now that you have whisked the two of us away at the crack of dawn without so much as a word of explanation, would you like to _finally_ tell me where it is we're going?"

"We're going to a remote, uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean to have that picnic lunch you wanted."

"Oh, I was just kidding about the picnic. I didn't think you would actually _agree_ to it."

"I had always wanted to take Mokuba on a picnic. I thought it would be something he would enjoy. But, well, we never got around to it…"

A profound silence descended on them. Serenity wondered what Kaiba was thinking about. He hardly mentioned Mokuba, and when he did, he would always go quiet afterwards.

Except for the whirring of the helicopter blades, it was rather silent in the cabin. Serenity yawned loudly as she stared out the window. They were currently flying over the ocean, as they had been for hours. As majestic as it was, the wide expanse of nothing but water as far as the eye could see was _boring_.

She looked over Rei to see Kaiba leaning against the other window, soundly asleep. _Well well well, so the inhuman Seto Kaiba needs sleep like the rest of us mortals._ She actually felt some sympathy for the young man. She had the feeling that things were not going smoothly at Kaiba Corp, and she had assumed that Kaiba was staying up late to rectify the situation.

Looking closer, she spotted the book Kaiba had been reading. The corner was sticking out of his far pocket, and Serenity saw it as a shining solution to her boredom. She reached across Kaiba's lap, brushing against him as she attempted to grab the book.

When Kaiba grabbed her wrist, Serenity realised that he may not have been as asleep as he appeared. He stared at her out of the corner of his eye, smirked, and said, "If you wanted the book, Serenity, you could have asked. You didn't have to grope me for it."

Serenity turned bright red, and hastily pulled her hand back. She muttered, "Well, I was trying to be courteous and let you get your beauty sleep. Heaven knows you need it."

Kaiba let out an amused chuckle, and handed her the book. "Knock yourself out," he said, and closed his eyes in his imitation of sleep.

-V-

"Oh, Kaiba," breathed Serenity, "this is _beautiful_."

"But of course. I wouldn't own anything ugly or disgusting, would I?"

"Nothing but your personality," she responded. They both knew that her reply was nothing more than good-natured joking. "But seriously, you _own_ this island? It seems like an un-Kaiba-like place."

"Investment purposes," he replied. "Purely investment purposes." He too sounded more lighthearted and carefree, and very much un-Kaiba-like himself.

There was something soothing and relaxing about the picturesque island, something that made Kaiba and Serenity forget their troubles, and they both stood there for a moment, basking in the sunshine and gentle sea breeze.

"Granted," said Kaiba, "it's not a very big island, but it's big enough for a few hours of exploration."

"Must you always be on the go?" asked Serenity. "Can't you just stop and smell the flowers for a while?" To illustrate her point, she flopped down on the lush grass and proceeded to smell and exotic-looking large purple flower.

"We have all day to smell the flowers," replied Kaiba. "Let's go. This, here, is the _ugly_ part of the island. I want to show Rei the _pretty_ part."

Serenity took not of the way Kaiba said 'Rei' and not 'Rei and you.' _He's afraid to open up to anyone older than 11. I'll need to get him to stop that._ She wasn't sure _why_ she wanted to help Kaiba with his abominable personal relations. Perhaps it was a side effect of being on this dreamlike island.

Before long, Serenity had shed her shoes, and was walking along beside the more uptight Kaiba. He had been right: as they got farther from the helicopter landing site, the island just got more breathtaking. Rei had acquired, from who knows where, a large pink flower, and was waving it happily around.

"Oh gosh," said Serenity, seeing the picnic sight, complete with wicker basket and red-and-white checkered blanket spread out on the ground. _He sure knows how to have a picnic._

She looked up at the canopy of leaves above, swaying in the breeze and letting in little rays of golden sunlight to shine down upon them. Then, looking off beyond the tranquil glade, she could see the clear blue ocean waves lapping gently along the shore.

"Ooh, a beach! C'mon Seto, let's go!" She sprinted eagerly for the beach, and the inviting water beyond.

Kaiba smiled, amused at Serenity's eagerness. He followed her out of the glade, and emerged just in time to see a large splash as Serenity jumped happily into the water. As she emerged, he noticed, with mild consternation, her clothes piled on the ground. "What the hell…?" he said.

"Oh, don't be such a prude, Seto," she said. "Anyway, I'm wearing a bathing suit." She showed him her conservative one-piece navy blue bathing suit, now drenched from being submerged in the ocean.

"What are you thinking? It's much too cold to go swimming!"

"Who are you, my grandmother?"

"You know, Rei is acting less childlike than you are."

"Lighten up," she replied, sending a small splash of water towards Kaiba, making him quickly retreat a few feet. "I'm not even out of school yet. I'm still allowed to act silly and childlike." She twirled in a goofy circle, as if to illustrate her point. "Why don't you bring Rei into the water? I'm sure she'd love it."

"Are you joking?! She could catch hypothermia! Not to mention all the bacteria that live in unfiltered sea water, and all the sharks and pirhanas…"

She sent a much larger splash in his direction, and then looked up sweetly as water dripped down his face. He looked dumbfounded for a moment, then said, in a peculiar tone, "NO ONE splashes Seto Kaiba! Those that do will quickly find themselves in want of a picnic lunch!"

He flounced away, carrying Rei, and leaving Serenity standing in the ocean, an amused look on her face. _Was he trying to tell a **joke**?!_

-V-

The lunch hour came, and Serenity walked back to the picnic site with a little apprehension. Suppose Kaiba had been telling the truth when he said that she wouldn't get any lunch. Her stomach rumbled, and she sincerely hoped that this wasn't the case.

Upon walking back into the glade, the sight she saw was rather surprising. Kaiba had shed his black trench coat, and was clad in a casual black tee shirt and loose-fitting black jeans (an ensemble completely different from his usual skintight garments buckled to his arms and legs). Both he and Rei were lying in the grass, and again he was reading to her from the book.

"Ahem," coughed Serenity. She didn't want to interrupt the moment, but she felt as though her stomach had begun to eat itself.

Kaiba looked at her with contempt. "I thought I told you, Serenity, that you aren't welcome here." Rei frowned, which made Kaiba smile. "But I guess that you may be forgiven this time. Have a seat."

As Serenity sat, she wondered who this pleasant young man was, and what he had done with the real Seto Kaiba. She had never, NEVER seen Kaiba acting… nice to others. _I bet his normal clothes are too tight. Probably choke all the niceness out of him. This outfit is much more appealing than the usual…_

Serenity actually laughed out loud when she realised that she had subconsciously been checking Kaiba out. _This is **Kaiba** we're talking about. Kaiba, the impersonal, unemotional facsimile of a human being._ But, actually, the past few weekends _had_ shown Serenity that there was more to Kaiba than she originally thought, and she likened him to an onion: lots of layers. The thought of an onion Kaiba made her laugh again.

"What's so funny?" he asked, confused by her sudden outbursts of laughter for no apparent reason. She only shook her head, and said, "Just thinking about something funny, that's all."

-V-

If anyone had told Seto Kaiba that he would be lying on a sunny, sandy beach, shoeless, wearing jeans and a tee shirt, while his baby daughter and her mother played in the sparkling blue water a few feet away, he would have sued that blasphemous individual.

Yet Serenity had convinced him to habitate the beach, and now he surprised himself by enjoying an activity that was neither work nor Duel Monsters, a rare occurrence indeed.

"Seto," shouted Serenity, "you keep that up and you're going to fry your lily-white skin. I think you need some sunblock."

Kaiba looked down at his arms. Even if they _were_ rather pale, he still took offense at being called "lily-white". But he saw the wisdom in her words, and decided that maybe sunblock would be prudent.

With a regretful sigh, he heaved himself off the comfortable sand, and padded back to the glade. He was rifling through the picnic basket, in search of the skin care product, when his cell phone rang from his trench coat pocket.

He was tempted to just let it ring, but then he thought that if he did that, someone would assume he had come to harm, and was unable to answer the phone. Then they would show up in the helicopter, and ruin the rest of the day. He retrieved the phone, and said, "Hello? Kaiba speaking."

"Mr. Kaiba? This is Kurakane, from the finances department. I was going over some of the documents this afternoon, and I noticed something unusual. Do you have some time so I can ask you some questions about recent finances—"

"Kurakane, I have only one day a week to escape from that vortex I call a company. I have neither the time nor the patience today to wrack my brain for the solution to one of Kaiba Corp's many problems. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow." With that, Kaiba terminated the conversation. Then he proceeded to slather the gooey sunblock all over, because he really did not wish to get burned.

-V-

"Serenity. Serenity?" He addressed the girl who was, at present, sleeping soundly on the beach, wrapped in the picnic blanket. The balmy breeze and the gentle lapping of the waves had lulled her to sleep (and it hadn't helped that she had been woken too early by a certain someone).

"Serenity, you must get up. The helicopter will be arriving soon. It _is_ a long way back to Domino."

Serenity opened her eyes reluctantly, and unfurled from the blanket, stretching like a lazy cat who has just had a long nap in the sun. Sitting up, she was surprised to see the sun setting. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A good two hours, I'd say."

"Oh." There was quite a pregnant pause, as Serenity was struggling with something in her mind. Finally, and with a bit of difficulty, she said, "I just wanted to say thank you for the lovely day. This island is gorgeous, and even _you_ seem less aloof and surly than usual.'

"Don't expect it to be that way once we get back to Domino. I have an important reputation I need to uphold. Here on this island, I have only you and the baby I need to impress."

Rei looked up, taking a quick break from demolishing the sand castle she and Daddy had built earlier. She looked up to see Mommy and Daddy talking. Though she didn't understand what they were saying, she could tell that something was a little different than usual. They normally spoke in unfriendly tones towards each other, which made Rei a little sad. Right now, though, they looked like they were being quite nice to each other. Rei was ecstatic to see Mommy and Daddy getting along for once, and she voiced this happiness with a loud screech of delight.

Serenity looked to see Rei screeching happily amidst the remains of a rather large sand castle. She looked over to Kaiba, who was watching his daughter with a tender glance, his hair windswept and sandy, and his eyes reflecting the setting sun glittering off the calm water. There was a look of peace, and tranquility, on his face, which was so often stressed and arrogant. _This island truly brings happiness,_ Serenity thought. _I'm glad Seto finally got the day off that he needed to have._

But alas, all good things must come to an end, and the sound of the helicopter brought the marvelous day to a disappointing close. The three, totally at ease, walked slowly back to the chopper, and as they stepped off the lush tropical island, into the grey, steel machine, they once more returned to the lives they were accustomed to.

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	9. s c a n d a l

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t u r m o i l

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by sir mocha

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chapter 09: s c a n d a l

Sunday

"Serenity!" yelled Joey. "_Where_ have you _been_ all day?!"

"I believe I left you a note, Joey."

"Yeah, but you said you were going _out_. You did _not_ say that you wouldn't be back until _two in the morning_!"

"Wow, is it really that late? I fell asleep in Kaiba's helicopter, and lost track of time."

"You fell asleep in Kaiba's helicopter? Was Kaiba in there while you were sleeping? Serenity, you can't trust that bastard, you don't know what he might try—"

"For goodness' sake!" exclaimed Serenity. "He's not as bad as you think, Joey!"

"Well, he must not be. You spent the _whole_ day with him, for crying out loud! You spent the day with Moneybags! I wish you wouldn't go out with that jerk!"

"Oh, Joey," said Serenity, exasperated. "We didn't _go out_. We just…went…out." Well, that sounded lame to both their ears. "And regardless of what you wish, Joey, we had a wonderful day on Kaiba's island. The water was so warm and clear!"

"Don't tell me you went in the water!" said Joey in consternation. "It's waaaay too cold to go in the water! Go to bed now, before you get sick!"

Serenity stalked off to her room, muttering about overprotective older brothers who didn't know what they were lecturing about.

But apparently, Joey _did_ know a thing or two, because Serenity awoke the next morning with a raging headache.

"I won't say I told you so," said Joey smugly.

-

Blasted labor laws! Why can't _I make my employees work on a Sunday? _Kaiba had had even less sleep than Serenity, and despite liberal amounts of sunscreen, Fate had deemed it fit to give him a sunburn, on his nose of all places. These factors put the CEO in a very cranky mood.

Maybe taking Rei to the park will provide entertainment on this otherwise unbearably boring Sunday. Kaiba had work that needed to be done, but he was not in the mood, and for once decided to give into sloth and indulge in laziness. _Yes, I think a trip to the park would be most enjoyable._

He pulled out his cell, and dialed Serenity's apartment (conveniently set to Speed Dial No. 3). When Serenity answered (in a rather dull, listless tone), Kaiba said, "I think a trip to the park would be an apt activity for the day. Don't you agree? A limo will—"

"No, Kaiba."

"…Excuse me? I said—"

"No, Kaiba. We are not going to the park today."

"Well, why the hell not?!" Kaiba's sour mood was not improving any from Serenity's impudence.

"Kaiba, I have one hell of a headache after not getting enough sleep and being too careless. On top of that, I have to go to work in a few hours, and I can _not_ show the customers that I'm sick, or they'll be scared away from 'unhealthy conditions'. And on top of _that_, I have several hours of homework to do, because unlike _some people_, I'm relying on a scholarship to get into college. And on top of _that_—"

"Ok, ok, I've heard enough of your sob story. Just phone into work and say you're too sick to work. That ought to—"

"And unlike _some people_, I need all the money I can get! I can't just phone in sick whenever I feel like it." She was getting quite frustrated with the fact that Kaiba just didn't seem to understand, and her frustration was made apparent by her irritated tone.

"Fine. If you need money, I'll give you money! How much do you want? $100? $1,000?" He responded with as much nastiness in his voice as she spoke to him with.

"Forget it, Kaiba. Just forget it. We hung out _all day_ yesterday. I think you've had enough." With that assertion, she hung up the phone, happy to have gotten the last word in.

Witch, thought Kaiba. _I am allowed to hang up on others, but _no one_ hangs up on me!_ In rather an ill humor, he went over to his computer and began to furiously type, going back to the old Kaiba standby of work, work, work.

_._

_Monday_

"WHAT? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

The manager winced. So much for Kaiba taking the news well. "I said, sir," he repeated a little hesitantly (not wanting to evoke that nightmarish Kaiba anger), "I spent much of Saturday going over some of the finance records. I saw inconsistencies with the projected profits, so my team looked more closely at the hard copies of Kaiba Corp transactions. There were substantial differences between the accountants' records and the actual. My guess?" He took a deep breath. "Several accountants were doctoring the books, and pocketing the profits."

Kaiba buried his face in his hands. "Shit," he said, muffled. "Shit shit shit. I should have been expecting something like this coming from those greedy swine in the accounting department." He paused, and then asked bleakly, "When you say substantial…?"

"A hundred million. They've been doing this since the company was under the management of your stepfather."

"_SHIT!_" the frustrated CEO yelled, scaring away several birds perched on the windowsill.

"Sir…? The company has maintained itself quite well despite this adversity…"

"No," said Kaiba, who almost felt like crying. "No, this company can manage fine. What's a hundred million to a multi-_billion_ dollar corporation?"

He brought a fist crashing down onto the desk, startling the manager. "But if our _stockholders_ find out about this, they're going to lose confidence in the company, and sell their stock as quickly as possible. And when the value of the stock plummets, so will this company. We'll experience our very own Great Depression."

He laughed despondently. "And when this company goes belly-up, the stolen hundred million will look like _nothing_ compared to the billions down the drain." Now Kaiba's eyes developed a desperate, fearful glint that was all too apparent to the manager.

The flustered manager tried to be reassuring. "Don't worry, sir. We'll fix this problem. I've worked for this fine company for 30 years, and I've yet to come across an insurmountable problem. And now, Mr. Kaiba, would you like me to send in those accountants? I know how you like to have your way with bad employees."

"Your overconfidence and hopefulness sicken me," said Kaiba as a way of dismissal.

Disheartened, the man turned to exit the office. He was halfway to the door before he heard, "But your devotion to the company and your commendable handling of the situation so far merit appreciation. I believe a promotion is in order, _Executive_ Kurakane."

Kurakane could hardly believe his ears. A direct address from the CEO, and a _praiseworthy promotion_ to boot? Unheard of! With more determination than ever, Kurakane went to the task of finding the wayward accountants, so that Kaiba could give them their just desserts.

-

"Hello, Rei." said Kaiba wearily upon returning home. "Guess what I did today. I fired six scheming, conniving accountants who have pocketed a hundred million dollars among themselves. Then I began preparations to fix the company and keep the whole thing a secret from my stockholders so the company doesn't go into financial ruin. How was your day?"

Rei stared at him with big, bemused eyes.

"Yeah, that's how I feel too."

_._

_Friday_

"Gentlemen," said Kaiba in an official tone. "I have just become aware of the existing debts owed to your companies by this corporation, and—"

"You should be more on top of the vital workings of your own company," said one venerable CEO rather disapprovingly.

"I'll admit that I should have been more aware of the situation. However, you must understand, sir, that a company of this magnitude has many facets that must be continually regarded, and there is little time for each—"

"I think," said another businessman, "that a loss of a hundred million dollars is rather pertinent to the well-being of your company. And it probably requires a rather careless CEO to not recognize a problem that has continually—"

"GENTLEMEN!" thundered Kaiba, provoked by the snide comments. "I tell you, we are having problems at the moment, but I _will_ remedy the situation. I have the capacity to accomplish this task, but the results will not be immediate. I have called this conference to inform you that you will have to be patient. When I face a problem, I refuse to back down, and this is no exception. Those that perpetrated the crime were justly punished, and now we are going to double our efforts to see that nothing of this sort happens again."

One tactful CEO said, diplomatically, "We understand this, Mr. Kaiba, but _you_ must understand that we too will be hurt if we cannot recover our lost money."

"Kaiba Corp will work hard to see that all the lost money is recovered. You'll get your money," replied Kaiba grimly. "I'll get you your money, or I'll die trying."

_._

_Saturday_

The sleek, shiny black limo pulled up to the front of the ramshackle apartment building. Kaiba stepped out, dressed again in black tee shirt, vest, and jeans. He made his way inside the building and up to the Wheelers' apartment. Impatiently he rang the bell, eager to get going with the day.

The door was opened rather vehemently by Serenity. She looked… awful. Her eyes and nose were quite red, and her hair was a tangled mess.

"No," she said, coughing. "No, Kaiba, go away. I'm in no mood to go out today."

"It's 11 o'clock. I let you sleep in a very long time today, after taking into consideration how much you complained the last time."

"Did you hear me, Kaiba?" she asked, coughing again. "I said NO."

Kaiba closed his eyes in vexation. "Look, Serenity, I've had a tough, difficult, frustrating week at work. All I want to do is spend a leisurely Saturday with my daughter. Is that too much to ask?"

"Life is not all about you, Kaiba! Perhaps I deserve to have _my _opinion considered too. I've been feeling like crap _all week_, and school and work have been terrible! I've been working my brain to mush all week, and I'm in no mood to stand here and be ordered around by _you._ I thought I could relax at home before I have work. So go away, please."

"Fine. If you don't wish to go on an outing, I'll take Rei, and we two will go out."

"The weekends are _my_ time, as you well know. Just go away Kaiba, you're getting _obsessed_," she yelled, and rubbed her temples to try to chase away an oncoming headache.

"I am _not_ obsessed!" Kaiba retorted just as loudly. Her actions were enough to give _him_ a headache as well.

Joey appeared in the doorway behind Serenity. He glared at Kaiba, and said, "I believe she told you to get lost, Rich Kid."

"I'll 'get lost' once she accepts the fact that I am correct, and have a right to my daughter."

"Well, you don't have a right to harass my sister like that." He pulled a switchblade from his pocket. With a _snap_, it sprang open, and he held it in a practiced fighting position. "Don't make me _make you_ get lost, or you'll be sorry."

Kaiba glanced scornfully at the knife. "Don't wave that toy at me, Puppy. I'm probably a good deal better in a knife fight than you. I'll leave because I don't want to get your blood on my clothes." He scowled, and stomped down the hall, thinking bitter thoughts.

"Yeah, Kaiba, just run away with your tail tucked between your legs!" jeered Joey, unable to resist taking a shot at the retreating CEO.

Livid, Kaiba seized a chunk of two-by-four from the crumbling wall. He threw it with precision at Joey's head, and it connected with a satisfying _clunk_. Kaiba laughed as Joey fell backwards, out cold. He took his leave as Serenity rushed over to her brother, checking to see if he was ok.

"KAIBA!" screamed Serenity. "When I told Joey that you weren't as bad as he thought, I was wrong. You're worse than either of us ever imagined!"

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july 18, 2004 

Kaiba seems a little mad in this chapter. And I'm afraid that he's going to do something in the near future that you're all going to hate. Well, a couple of things, actually…

chapters 10 and 11 are The Chapters of the story. They're pivotal in the plot, and are long, important, and rather angsty! Anyone who was hoping that I was gonna give Kaiba a break, well, those chapters aren't for you. Then after chapter 11, we'll be moving on to Part III! And I might decide to do a Part IV, if the fancy strikes me. So yeah, there's an outline for the rest of the story. Cheers!

A lifesize Seto cardboard cutout for every wonderful reviewer! Cutouts to

Meii-chan (no, it automatically changes everything. Sorry, I'm not gonna add any crazy island people, though it would be interesting!)

IcyPanther (Well, as you can see, it was a rather important phone call! And my Grand Canyon TV had great channels…)

Sakura

**Sesshomaru's Fan-demon**(hmm… I thought I said whistle…)

Subaru the Jaguar(scary, I know. And I like Joey a whole lot more in the manga. In the show, he's meh.)

1324 (you hit the nail on the head! Look for the answer in chapter 10)

Chibi-Kari (are you a Digimon fan? Digimon ROCKS! And thank you very very much for adding me to your Favorite Authors! A glow in the dark Superball for you!)

chii-chan

Thanks a million!

I just got Vol. 5 of the YGO manga, and Kaiba is a real jerk towards Mokuba, which surprised me a great deal. On the show, he dotes constantly on Mokuba, and yet, in the manga, he calls him a loser. But, thankfully, he does redeem himself later.


	10. m u r d e r

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july 28, 2004

Whew! This whole chapter is a bit intense! I can safely say that, after a pleasant interlude, we're back to good old angst… And at last, the truth comes out.

A question (but more like something to ponder). On the Shonen Jump website, it says that YGO is immensely popular with **boys** ages 6-17. Yet, most of the YGO fanfic I've read is written by girls. So what's up with that? I used to think that was a mostly-female website, but then I started looking around, and realized that there are more male authors than I thought. So if YGO is so popular with boys, how come all the stories are female-written stories? Is it because the mostly male cast, which is supposed to appeal to boys, appeals more to girls (in a different way)? Is it because all the boys who like YGO don't write fanfic, or are too young? Or am I completely wrong? Are there a whole bunch of male YGO authors that I'm not aware of? This has been puzzling me for some time.

A plastic Kaiba doll to all my fab reviewers! As always, I appreciate your wonderful comments, and I appreciate the time you take to review my story!

Subaru the Jaguar – Gomen, I know how much you love Joey. But with his hard head, he'll bounce right back.

IcyPanther – Joey's fine, don't worry! And yes, angst galore!

Chibi-Kari – Wow, 5 years? I bow to you, oh wise and venerable reviewer!

Sakura – Kaiba's having some problems, it's not his fault entirely. As you will see in chapter 11…

chii-chan

Tinyflyer02

aya2021 – the romance comes in in Part III! So just a few more chappies…

Meii-chan – I think all that Nixon stuff in History influenced me, whether I wanted it to or not. A..A And I do a lot of scene-jumping, so they were only on the island in chapter 08.

Setine

For more fabulous prizes, all you need to do is review! (I can't believe I've resorted to bribery …)

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t u r m o i l

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by sir mocha

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chapter 10: m u r d e r

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Kaiba popped another aspirin to try and control the raging headache he had developed. In the back of his mind, he wondered if staring at a laptop screen in a dark room for many hours was the cause of the pain in his temples.

Stupid Wheeler. If we were out doing something, I wouldn't have developed this headache in the first place. Ever since he had given the Mutt a concussion, Serenity had refused to spend any extraneous time with him. He had even volunteered to pay the hospital bill, but the stupid stubborn Wheelers had refused. He really didn't understand why people so poor were so proud of that fact.

Maybe I should open the blinds, Kaiba thought. _Natural light may do me some good. _He stood up, stretched, then went to the big office window and threw the drapes open, letting the midday sunlight stream into the room.

He looked outside, and saw Bakura walking up the long driveway. Bakura hadn't been by in a while, not since that day a few weeks ago. _It's somewhat unusual, but then again_, thought Kaiba, _Bakura is a pretty unusual person._

An hour later found Kaiba back at work, typing up a proposal to the Executive Board. He was leaning precariously over, checking one of the charts spread out all over his desk, when a shrill scream pierced the afternoon quiet.

Startled, Kaiba tipped his chair over, and fell to the floor with a comical _thud_. _What the hell was that?_ he wondered, getting to his feet, and rubbing his bruised arm.

Another loud scream permeated through the stillness, only this one was not simply scared, or startled, but pain-filled.

Kaiba was out the door in a flash, going to try to find the source of the scream. At the bottom of the stairs, leading to the first floor, he, quite literally, ran into someone who was running quickly towards the front door.

Kaiba nearly retched when he saw the person he had run into. Ryou, knocked to the floor from the collision, was coated in blood, the sight of which made Kaiba feel a little ill. And underneath the blood, Kaiba could see that Ryou was even paler than usual, and shaking.

Kaiba pushed himself to his feet, and looked down at Ryou with fear mingled with curiosity. Was Ryou bleeding to death? And if not, then where had the blood come from? Or, more appropriately, _whom_ had the blood come from?

"Kaiba!" yelled Ryou, scrambling to his feet. "Kaiba," he sobbed, "Kaiba, he killed her. He KILLED her!" The young man was hysterical as he clutched at the front of Kaiba's shirt with his blood-drenched hands.

"What?" said Kaiba stupidly, pushing Ryou away. "Who killed? Who was killed?"

"BAKURA!" gasped Ryou. "Bakura killed her!"

"You're talking nonsense," sneered Kaiba. "_You're_ Bakura! Are you saying you killed someone?" He reflexively took a step away from the crazed Ryou.

"HE KILLED HER! HE KILLED GRANDMA!" screamed Ryou, trying to make Kaiba understand the terrible thing Bakura had done. "The robbery at the museum? It was Bakura! I tried to stop him, but I couldn't… She realized that Bakura had stolen those artifacts! And when she realized this, he got mad… so mad… He took control of my body, and then… he killed her so that she wouldn't tell anyone the truth…" He whimpered this as he watched the expression on Kaiba's face grow more and more horrified.

"…What?!" asked Kaiba, stunned.

Why doesn't he understand? Ryou brandished a bloodstained knife at Kaiba, trying to make him see. "He used this knife!" he sobbed. "He used this knife to slit her throat! He said it would keep her quiet!"

Quick as lightning, Kaiba kicked the bloodied knife out of Ryou's hand. He didn't know what was happening, but he sure as hell wasn't about to let himself get stabbed by this maniac. As added self-defense, he pulled the small handgun from his leg holster, and pointed it at the scared and shaking Ryou, who was holding his broken wrist with a look of pain and helplessness.

"Lead me to her!" ordered Kaiba coldly, audibly clicking the safety catch off.

"…Please don't make me go back there!" begged Ryou, terror evident on his face.

"GO!" yelled Kaiba.

Hesitantly, but persuaded by the presence of Kaiba's gun, Ryou led Kaiba through the halls, to the area behind the kitchen where he and Miro always had their tea. He stopped outside the door, unwilling to venture farther, but a shove from Kaiba sent them both into the room.

When Kaiba saw the mangled body of his housekeeper, the bile rose in his throat, and he heaved up the contents of his stomach, which mingled with the wide pool of blood on the floor. The sigh was enough to make even the hardiest individual sick to his or her stomach.

Kaiba turned to Ryou, hatred in his eyes and a snarl on his lips. "You…you killed her…"

"It WASN'T ME!" screamed Ryou. "I swear! I swear before GOD that it was Bakura! My yami!"

But the proof of Ryou's guilt lay before Kaiba's eyes, and it was proof enough for him. He tackled Ryou to the ground, twisting the smaller man's arm painfully behind him, pinning him on the blood-covered floor. He jerked Ryou's arm back even farther to stop him from struggling, then with a free hand, pulled his cell phone form his coat. He called the police, and told them of the murder, all while Ryou was yelling, "It wasn't me!" over and over again.

Kaiba kept him completely immobilized until he heard the police kicking down the back kitchen door. Then he said to Ryou, "I'll see that you're locked away, never to see daylight again."

Ryou was sobbing agonizingly as the police entered the room and hauled him to his feet. As they pulled him, struggling, out to the car, he yelled, "Grandma!" heartbreakingly. And that was the last thing he said, before he was handcuffed in the back seat of the car.

The crime scene officers entered the room, and questioned Kaiba. He reported, somewhat shakily, that Ryou had murdered Miro. He also mentioned to the police the fact that Ryou had confessed to stealing the museum items. Then he got out as quickly as he could. Another second of being in that evil room, and he would have thrown up again.

-

"Kaiba!" A shrill and indignant voice rang out thought Kaiba's cavernous office.

Kaiba looked up from his work to see the Friendship Four, the people he least wanted to see at that particular time. "How did you get in here?!" he snarled.

Yugi stalked up until he was standing right in front of Kaiba's desk. "Unlike _you_, your secretary has a _heart_, and realizes when it's important to bend the rules! We need to talk, Kaiba, about—"

Kaiba cut him off. He pressed the intercom button, and said to his secretary, "You're fired. Get out of my building before I call security."

Yugi was momentarily rendered speechless at Kaiba's callous disregard for the poor secretary. Tristan, Tea, and Joey took the opportunity to start in on Kaiba, all yelling at the same time and creating a terrific cacophony of annoying voices.

"Shut up!" yelled Kaiba impatiently, feeling a headache coming on. "And get out of here before I sic security on you, too."

"Kaiba," said Yami, who had taken over Yugi's body. "You will listen to what we have to say, or I will Mind Crush you into the Shadow Realm, as I have done several times before."

Kaiba paled at the memories of the traumatic experiences, and nodded his head, allowing Yami to continue.

Yugi once again took control. "Why did you do it, Kaiba?" he asked quietly.

"Do what?" Kaiba had the threat of the Shadow Realm hanging over him, but that didn't stop him from being rude.

Tristan came over, and slammed something down on Kaiba's desk, sending several papers flying. It was a copy of the Sunday paper, with the headline,

Murder at the Kaiba Mansion! CEO apprehends cold-blooded Killer!

Kaiba sighed, remembering the hoards of reporters that had showed up on his front lawn, tipped off by several idiotic servants. He hadn't wanted any publicity for himself or for Kaiba Corp, because with Kaiba Corp's financial situation, he thought it best to lay low, and avoid the public eye. He had given the reporters a brief and insubstantial statement about the event, in hopes that they would leave him alone after that. When it looked as though they had no intention of leaving, he turned the sprinkler system on full blast, soaking the reporters until they fled, dripping. He laughed softly at this memory.

"So you think it's _funny_?" yelled Tristan, jerking the CEO out of his reverie. Of all of Ryou's friends, it had been he who had taken it the hardest. "You sent Bakura to _jail_ even though you knew he was telling the truth! He won't survive jail! The other inmates will kill him! That is, if he isn't put in solitary confinement!" Tristan's voice broke, and he had to turn away.

"You were in Battle City, as we were!" exclaimed Joey angrily. "You saw Bakura's dark side, as did we! And even _you_ have to realize that Bakura doesn't have it in him to murder someone!"

"Be that as it may, I would not allow a knife-wielding, blood-soaked maniac to wander away from a murder he had just committed in _my_ house! The last thing I want is for people to think _I_ perpetrated the crime!"

"So that's it?" said Tea, tears of anger welling up in her eyes. "You made them arrest Bakura so you could save yourself? You'd rather lock up an innocent person than put a chip in your icy reputation? Some things are more important than self-preservation, Kaiba!"

"I never said he was innocent!" exclaimed Kaiba. "I think Bakura has another side to him that you all refuse to acknowledge. And I'm not talking about 'Egyptian Spirits' or any of that nonsense! I'm not so sure how mentally stable he is, and I believe that he is fully capable of having some sort of split personality disorder. If he needs a psychiatrist, Kaiba Corp has a highly qualified medical staff. Though I'm not so sure Bakura could afford them. The best of the best don't come cheaply."

The four stared at the CEO with deep disgust. Yugi spoke up. "Kaiba, you're going to learn compassion for others, I know it. But I don't think it's going to be pleasant, because you seem so unwilling. The less empathetic you are, the harder it's going to be for you when you fall into misfortune, as Bakura has. Except when you fall, there's going to be no one to pick you back up, because unlike Bakura, you don't want friends, Kaiba, and I don't think they want you either." Then the four of them left Kaiba with some heavy thinking to do.

-

"Any calls?" asked Kaiba upon reentering his office after lunch, a few days after the incident with Yugi and his friends.

"None, sir," replied the new secretary.

"Why the hell not? Well, are there any daycare services with openings?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Kaiba." She sounded apprehensive, probably from hearing how Kaiba had so abruptly dismissed the last secretary.

Kaiba sighed. "Well, here's Rei. I just fed her, and she needs to be burped. By you. Now."

The secretary looked down at her $200 suit, and wrinkled her nose in distaste as she took Rei from Kaiba.

Kaiba stalked away, put in a bad humor by his lack of success so far. Kaiba had not had a close, personal connection with Miro. TO be sure, he considered her pleasant, and she often had interesting things to say, and he was less than happy at her passing. But more vitally, she was the head housekeeper at the Mansion, and the only one of the hired help that didn't curse Kaiba behind his back (unaware, of course, of the hidden microphones).

She was also the one who cared for Rei when Kaiba was at work, which meant that a majority of his time with Rei had been, in fact, Miro time. This had irritated Kaiba, who had wished to spend more time with his adorable daughter. With the death of Miro, Kaiba suddenly found that he had too _much_ of Rei, and not enough time to care for her adequately. He had taken to giving her to his new secretary while he was working. But the secretary, a 19-year-old college dropout with (conspicuously fake) platinum blonde hair, long red fingernails, and too much makeup, was ill-suited for taking care of a baby, and Kaiba wondered, sometimes, if Rei was entirely safe with the ditzy young woman.

I must make the qualifications for my personal secretary much, much higher, so I can weed out beings like her. Either that, or I must create an employee daycare service, which will be forced_ to take Rei._ He snorted at the though of providing helpful services to his ungrateful employees.

Kaiba had a good idea of why no one would accept the nanny job, or why all the daycares were always completely full (though the idea of leaving Rei in one of those unqualified, public places scared Kaiba a great deal). In hindsight, he probably should have been a little nicer to all his employees. He was pretty sure that all the prospective candidates were scared of him, and no amount of money would persuade them to crawl willingly into the dragon's den.

Kaiba stared broodingly at the phone, willing it to ring. At this point, he would accept _anyone_'s offer, because he was that desperate. He had already tried asking Serenity, but she informed him (rather coolly) that she was much too busy. And Kaiba believed it; he knew of how hard she worked at school, and the long hours she spent at her job.

In resignation, Kaiba returned to his work, typing away at his computer and checking graphs, charts, and reports.

At around 7 o'clock, the secretary intercommed Kaiba. "Mr. Kaiba? It's time to go home…except you have a call on line three, ok? I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Kaiba…"

"Whatever," said Kaiba, stretching out of his hunched over position. He picked up the phone, and said, "Kaiba here."

"Ah, Seto, my boy! It must be quite late over there! I thought I had missed you."

"I work hard at my job, Harrison."

"Doubtless. But apparently, you just don't work hard enough."

"…What shit are you talking now, Harrison?"

"Well, Seto, I head a very interesting story this afternoon from several of your ex-employees. Apparently they said that Kaiba Corp is having some financial problems? Is this true, Seto?'

"I'm warning you now, Harrison! You better not say _anything_ to _anyone_ about this! You do, and…and…" But Kaiba could not think of anything he could use to threaten the cunning businessman.

"Oh now, that wouldn't be very nice of me, would it? In fact, that would be quite _mean_. But I'm a nice man, so I'm going to do you a favor."

"What could _you_ possibly do for _me_?" sneered Kaiba. "I thought N-Tech has 'severed its ties' with Kaiba Corp."

"Well, I feel bad for you, so I'm going to make you an offer I can't refuse. I'm willing to pay you one hundred million dollars for Kaiba Corp."

"Hah. Is that your idea of a joke? Kaiba Corp is a multi-billion dollar company! And it's _my_ company! And anyway, I wouldn't sell it to _you_ of all people. I wouldn't trust you with the company I've toiled over for 10 years, the company that I've perfected. I won't stand by and let _you_ ruin it! Do you know how much I've personally sacrificed?"

"Like your brother?" Harrison asked slyly.

This barb felt like a physical blow to Kaiba. "How DARE you bring up my brother! My brother's death was a tragic crime perpetrated by a sick criminal! And that criminal got what he deserved: a bullet in his brain."

"But how do you know that the shooter acted alone? How do you know that he wasn't hired by someone else?"

Kaiba was white with anger, and the hand that held the phone shook with barely-contained rage. In a deadly calm tone, he said, "Cut the crap, Harrison. You _know_ something about Mokuba's death! TELL ME!"

"Seto, Seto, Seto," tsked Harrison condescendingly. "Don't you realize? Your brother's death was an unfortunate accident. It was _you_ who was the target. I would know; I gave the assassin _explicit_ instructions to make sure you were dead, and out of my way."

A piercing silence followed those words, as Kaiba tried to keep from going absolutely crazy. This monster, this inhuman, unfeeling, SOULLESS monster had taken from Kaiba his most treasured possession. In his desire to get ahead in the game, he was willing to MURDER the only person who meant _anything_ to Kaiba.

It's your fault, you know. That voice, that terrible voice that plagued Kaiba's thoughts, had returned after all this time. _Harrison intended for you to be the target. And because you escaped death, your brother was taken from you in your stead. It's _your_ company, it's _your_ enemy, and it's _YOUR _fault!_

Maybe, thought Kaiba, _but what's done is done, and there's no use in crying over spilled milk. There's nothing that I can do to change what happened, but I _will_ make sure Harrison gets what he deserves!_

"Harrison, when I'm through with you, you're going to wish that _you_ were the one who had died," said Kaiba with psychotic calm. "They may have a messed up legal system in your country when it comes to patents, but I _know_ that the courts will put a murderer where he should be: strapped into an electric chair with 10 million volts of electricity coursing through his body, in so much fucking pain that he begs to die quickly."

"Seto, my son, you're so naive!" Harrison chuckled. "Do you think I would be telling you all this if there was a chance of any negative repercussions for me? Preposterous! And it's very surprising, the number of criminals that manage to evade the criminal justice system. And whether you call me a criminal, or simply a shrewd businessman, I can tell you that I won't be going to jail just yet."

"I have enough evidence to have you punished cruelly and unusually! I digitally record every conversation I have, and store the files away for later use. What do you mean, you won't be going to jail?! You just confessed your crimes, and I'll be damned if I let you get away with it!" Kaiba said this with pride, and arrogance, certain that he had beat Harrison at his own sick and twisted game.

"Well, Seto, do as you wish," said Harrison in mock-submission. "But you know, it would be a shame if I _accidentally_ let it slip to your stock holders that a hundred million dollars has gone missing from your company. They might all get nervous and sell their shares, and then you would be in trouble, wouldn't you?" He said this so patronizingly, it pushed Kaiba over the edge. And he lost his temper.

"IT'D BE FUCKING _WORTH_ IT TO SEE YOU _FRIED_!!!"

Despite being the brunt of Kaiba's anger and malice, Harrison remarkably managed to retain his composure. "Aha, but would they believe you? You, the CEO of a company that has been misleading its stock holders for the past 10 years? It would be _you_who was sent to jail, for embezzlement and fraud, your untarnished name blackened forever!"

"Well, if I go down, then I'll be seeing you in HELL!" With that, Kaiba slammed the phone down with alarming force. He was trapped, and there was nothing he could do about it.

__

.

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	11. a b u s e

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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t u r m o i l

-V-

by sir mocha

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

chapter 11: a b u s e

As Kaiba rode home in the limo, he stifled an enormous yawn. The day at work had been miserable, after the all-nighter he had pulled the previous night. Rei had been unusually fussy, and Kaiba had stayed up with her most of the night, trying to calm her incessant wails. He had managed to soothe her enough to bring her into the office, and dump her on his idiot secretary, but he had found work unusually long and tormenting.

Despite exhaustion, Kaiba felt an enormous amount of pride at the day's accomplishments. He had struck a deal with several major businessmen from companies Kaiba Corp owed money to, and Kaiba felt that, at long last, things were starting to look up in this scandal. He considered it one of the few 'good' days he'd had in a long time.

However, the other Kaiba Corp employees didn't share his sentiments. They had found their CEO to be in a particularly grumpy and foul mood all day, brought on by lack of sleep. Most of the workers in the building could hear the enraged bellows coming form the top floor, as more and more of their coworkers were fired for their 'incompetence'. Many of these newly fired workers would run from the building, sobbing and muttering obscenities towards the angry CEO.

Kaiba regarded the 17 firings with disdainful amusement. If only the fool would learn to do their jobs properly, he wouldn't have to let them go! The faults lay with them entirely.

Deep-down, Kaiba knew that this firing frenzy was really just an inappropriate outlet for the frustrations he felt regarding the revelation from Harrison about the real reason behind Mokuba's death. No matter how he looked at it, Kaiba could not rectify the problem without stooping to Harrison's level, and hiring an assassin of his own. If he hadn't been so busy with saving his company, he would have flown to the U.S. so he could personally blast the brains out of his traitorous ex-business-partner. As it was, that could wait. He knew that in time he would be able to avenge Mokuba's death.

Arriving at the mansion, his mind turned to other matters. _Hmm… it's later than I realized. Wheeler will be arriving soon, to get Rei. I should feed Rei before then, and probably change her diaper, too._ He looked down at Rei, who was sleeping peacefully after hours of being mistreated by the unfit secretary. _I'm sorry, Rei, I know the secretary isn't ideal, but I _still_ can't find anyone who will take care of you. You'll just have to bear it; I have more pressing matters to attend to._

Kaiba carried Rei up to her room, and hurriedly changed her diaper while keeping one eye on the clock. He didn't want to give Serenity the impression that he was neglecting Rei in any way. She was already mad enough after his fight with the Mutt. He had gotten word that the Mutt was just fine, so he didn't understand why Serenity was still so mad. _Women_, he thought irritably.

After changing Rei's diaper, he hurried to the kitchen to microwave her a bottle of milk. _Maybe I _have_ been neglecting her_, he thought. _But then again, maybe she's just being fussy. She's normally so well behaved. Last night was probably just a one-time event._ Warmed milk in hand, he went back to her room.

He entered to find her wailing again, just as she had all night long. Dismayed, he tried to calm her. "Shh, shh, it's ok, Rei. Please stop crying! If you're crying when your mother gets here, she'll yell at me for being mean to you."

The cries continued, grating in his ears, irritating him. "Please stop crying!" he pleaded. "Are you hungry? Do you want your bottle?" He put the bottle in her mouth, only to have her push it away and continue with her crying.

"I'm not a psychic, ok!" he yelled, losing his temper with the baby for the first time. "I'm not a psychic, so just shut up for a moment, and let me think about what you need. I can't think with you crying like that!"

She's a baby. She doesn't understand what you're saying. Instead of asking her politely, like a sissy, why don't you make_ her be quiet?_

He acted without thinking. Before he knew it, the deed had been done:

He had hit his daughter.

He stood over her, hand raised, while her cheek reddened from the slap. The two pairs of blue eyes stared at each other. Kaiba's contained shock, and regret, and a certain measure of self-loathing. Rei's were full of terror, and betrayal. After pledging her his love and protection, Kaiba had betrayed her, and now she lay there, afraid of this man whom she had trusted, and whom she had depended on to keep her safe.

Kaiba was astonished. He had never, ever wanted to hit Rei; it had just happened. But now, though he hadn't meant to, he hated himself for it. He hated the fact that the look of hurt in Rei's eyes was _his_ doing. He hated the fact that he had done to Rei what Gozaburo had done to _him_ time and time again. And most of all, he hated that tiny, sadistic part of him that got a rush out of 'teaching a lesson' to someone smaller and weaker than he.

He picked up Rei, cradling her in his arms, as he said to her over and over again, "I'm sorry, Rei. Please forgive me! I'm so sorry, Rei! I swear, I won't ever do it again!" But Rei, who was usually so warm and affectionate, was fussing, protesting being in his arms. It was obvious that she wanted to get somewhere she would be safe from his cruelty.

Dejectedly, Kaiba put her back in her carrier, wincing at the sight of her very red cheek. He already felt absolutely terrible, but then he realized with horror that Serenity, who would be here in only a few minutes, would be able to see at once what had happened. He rushed Rei downstairs, intent on getting an ice pack to take the redness away.

But Fate was not with the unfortunate young man. Just as he reached the kitchen, the doorbell rang. _She can wait_, he decided hurriedly. He opened the freezer door, and pulled out a bag of frozen peas. As he held it to Rei's cheek, she started wailing again.

The doorbell rang again, as an irate Serenity waited outside, wondering what was taking so long. Kaiba, or one of his butlers, was usually so prompt…

Lifting the ice pack, Kaiba noticed that the redness had lessened, but not enough to escape notice. He wondered whether he should just leave Serenity standing outside, while the redness went away, but then decided that that would be too suspicious.

Well, just because he cheek is a little red, it doesn't necessarily prove that I hit her! It could be anything… It could be from sleeping on it funny! Or maybe it could be a bug bite of some kind? That sounded desperate, but then again, Kaiba was feeling pretty desperate. He decided that it would be best to greet Serenity, with the hope that she didn't notice. And if she did… well, then, he would feign ignorance.

"Well, it's about time!" was Serenity's greeting when Kaiba _finally_ opened the door. "Geez, Kaiba! What did you do to her?" she asked loudly over the din of Rei's cries. "She never cries like this!"

"I don't know," replied Kaiba, trying to keep his tone calm and neutral. "She was like this all last night, and a lot of the day, too."

Serenity looked at the prominent bags under Kaiba's eyes, and said, with a hint of concern, "You must be exhausted!" Before Kaiba could stop her, Serenity took the baby from his arms, and began to rock her.

"Well, I'll just go get her diaper bag, then, it's upstairs," said Kaiba, leaving rather quickly. He didn't want to give Serenity any time to notice anything wrong with her daughter.

But Serenity _did_ notice. She looked down at Rei, only to see that Rei's cheek was rather red, and a bit swollen looking. Further examination revealed no but bites, or rashes, or anything out of the ordinary except for some swelling.

But this almost looks like…but he wouldn't…

But one look into Rei's pain-filled, sorrowful told Serenity that he just might…

"Well, here's the diaper bag," said Kaiba with a little too much cheerfulness. It sounded suspiciously like he was trying to cover something up.

"Kaiba, why was Rei crying?" asked Serenity, all hints of concern gone from her suspicious tone.

He paused. "I told you, I don't know…"

"Was it because you hit her?"

There was a very ominous silence, and Serenity saw Kaiba in a state she had never seen him in before: flustered.

Finally, Kaiba said, in a breaking voice, "It was an accident. I didn't mean to… I love Rei, and you know that! You KNOW I wouldn't do it on purpose!" He watched, crestfallen, as Serenity backed away from him, astonishment plain on her face.

"How could you?! I knew you were mean, Kaiba, but I didn't think you would stoop to _child_ _abuse_! She backed into the door, and reached a shaking hand to the knob. With her other hand, she held Rei protectively. "I don't think Rei should be in the care of a man who hits her!" And then, with one smooth movement, she was out the door and running to her car.

"Wheeler?! Dammit, Serenity! I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late!" He stepped out after her, and followed her to her car.

"Stay away!" yelled Serenity, panicking. "I thing you've done enough damage! Just STAY AWAY!" With that, she started up the engine of the car, and pulled out of Kaiba's driveway, tires squealing.

"NO!" shouted Kaiba after her. "You forgot the diaper bag!" _Rei NEEDS her diaper bag… I'll bring it to Serenity's apartment, and show her how caring I truly am that I would go to such trouble to make sure Rei's ok. Then she'll understand that I'm not bad like she thinks!_

He fumbled around in his pocket for a few moments, and fished out a shiny ring of keys. Then he ran into the enormous garage on the side of the house, to the recently purchased motorcycle.

Five minutes later found him zooming down the road, going well over the speed limit. But he barely registered the other angry drivers; his mind was completely focused on getting to Serenity's house as fast as he could.

Riding through debris and garbage on the poorly lit street, he pulled up in front of the apartment building. He parked behind Serenity's second-hand car, and made record time climbing up the stairs to her third-floor apartment.

He pounded on the door, while yelling, "Serenity! Let me the hell in!"

"NO!" she yelled angrily. "Get away from Rei! Get away from my home!"

"DAMMIT SERENITY!" he yelled, losing his temper for the second time that night. "Just OPEN the door! If you don't, I swear I'll break the damn thing down!"

"G-go away!" said Serenity, cursing her hesitation. Kaiba's anger was infamous in the working world, and the last thing she wanted was to have that anger directed in full towards herself. It would have been easy for her to give in, especially to one so compelling and intimidating. But she had to remain strong, and protect Rei, as she felt it was her duty to do.

"Look, Serenity," said Kaiba. He sounded weary, but Serenity didn't want to fall for any of his tricks. "I'm not giving up until you let me in, and you listen to what I have to say."

The only answer he got was a very profound silence as Serenity contemplated on what to do. Then, after a few moments that felt like a geological age in Kaiba's mind, Serenity responded. "Then you're going to be out there all night, or at least until Joey gets home and decides to kick your ass."

Serenity didn't know what kind of response she was expecting from Kaiba. Maybe an explosion of fury, or threats against her life, but certainly not the silence she was met with. She almost convinced herself that Kaiba had given up, and left.

The sudden blow Kaiba landed on the door splintered the doorframe around the hinges. Serenity jumped away as the door fell with an almighty _thump_ on the hardwood floor, revealing an enraged and heavily breathing Kaiba. He was staring at her with a malice that made her fear for her life, but also made her even more determined to stand up to his bullying.

"Serenity," said Kaiba menacingly, "you're _going_ to listen to what I have to say, and you're _going_ to believe me!"

She stared defiantly up at him, maneuvering between him and Rei, lying on the couch. The latter started to cry as she caught sight of Kaiba.

Kaiba transferred his gaze to Rei, instinct telling him to care for his crying daughter. Serenity took this opportunity, and while Kaiba's attention was diverted, she snatched a knife up off the kitchen table. It wasn't a very sharp knife (Joey had been using it to cut chicken), but it could definitely hurt someone, at the very least. The idea of stabbing or cutting Kaiba with a knife seemed preposterous to Serenity, but she didn't want to remain unarmed.

It seemed that Kaiba could read her mind, because he said to her, in an amused tone, "Serenity, you and I both know that you wouldn't stab me with a piece of silverware. Just put it down." He stepped towards her threateningly.

"NO!" she said obstinately, brandishing the pitiful weapon.

"Fine!" retorted Kaiba. He swung the diaper bag at Serenity, and it caught the little knife, sending it flying across the room to leave a slight divot in the wall.

"Well, I think I've won this little altercation," said Kaiba smugly. "Now, why don't you sit down, and we can talk." He gestured towards the couch. "NOW!" he barked, when she stood, unmoving.

Serenity had never seen Kaiba acting this way, and she suspected that something had finally snapped inside him, perhaps from stress, or exhaustion. But whatever the cause, there was a new spark of madness in his eyes that Serenity did _not_ want to further aggravate. She quickly reached the conclusion that perhaps a tactic other than defiance would be best in this situation. Perhaps she could talk some sense into him, and avoid whatever danger she might be in.

She backed up to the couch, and scooped up a still-crying Rei, before sitting down, and staring up at Kaiba, her face unreadable.

"Well," said Kaiba, "I think you should know that it was not my intention to… to lose my temper with Rei. But she would _not_ stop crying, and after a whole night without sleep, the last thing _anyone_ wants is a fractious child to take care of!"

"Well," sneered Serenity, "if you were a _good_ parent, you would be able to figure out, as I already have, that Rei is teething! And babies cry when they teethe because it hurts!"

"Shut up!" yelled Kaiba, provoked by Serenity's condescending tone. "I _am_ a good parent! Would a bad father stay up _ALL NIGHT_ because his kid would not stop crying? Would a bad father spend _hours_ on the phone, only to be turned down my every daycare center in town? Would a bad father drive all the way across town to deliver his baby's diaper bag to the INGRATE mother? I DO NOT THINK SO!"

Kaiba was too focused on his rant to hear what Serenity did: the wail of an approaching police car, which stopped right outside the apartment complex. The sound was music to her ears, and she couldn't contain the smirk that spread across her face.

Kaiba, who expected Serenity to be properly cowed after his tirade, was mystified by her expression. "And what, may I ask, has made you so happy all of a sudden?"

She laughed softly. "You said, dear Seto, that you were 'the winner in our little altercation'. You never suspected that I might be one step ahead of you. You never considered that I might outsmart you."

She fell silent, and Kaiba could now hear the footsteps thundering up the stairs. He stared hard at Serenity, and asked her, "What did you do?!" But it was a rhetorical question. He knew that, somehow, she had managed to call the Domino City Police. And Kaiba knew that the thundering footsteps were coming for him.

Despite lack of sleep, the adrenaline that now coursed though him made him alert, and he did some very quick thinking to try to figure out a way out of this whole mess.

Use Wheeler as a shield, suggested the voice in his head. _The police won't hurt you if there's a chance they might hurt her._

But upon further inspection of this idea, Kaiba was dismayed to find that, intentionally or not, Serenity had thwarted him again. If he tried to use her for a shield, he could end up hurting Rei, who was nestled in Serenity's protective arms. And Kaiba would take incarceration before he hurt Rei again.

The next thing Kaiba knew was pain, as he felt his arms twisted acutely behind his back by an officer. Several others aimed their tranquilizer guns at him, prepared to shoot if he put up a fight.

But Kaiba decided that it wouldn't be prudent to take on four armed cops at once. Rather, he knew that if he went without a fight, they'd be more lenient, and he'd be able to worm his way out of a serious punishment.

But before he was carted off, he asked Serenity, "_When_ did you have time to call the police!?"

She smirked again. "I called right before you got here. Kaiba, you're so predictable! I _knew_ you were going to follow me back! I've never known you to back down without having the last word."

Kaiba scowled, but when he saw Rei in Serenity's arms, he felt shame well up inside him. _This whole thing is your fault, jerk,_ chided the voice in his head. _If you could just learn to control your damn temper, nothing like this would happen._

Kaiba allowed the police to escort him out of the apartment. He _knew_ that it was all his fault, and that he had screwed up just as he had before.

Serenity watched him go. After living with an abusive father, the thought that Kaiba had hit Rei struck a particular nerve, and she regarded him with disgust and anger. She remembered how contrite and repentant her own father had been after he hit her, only to have him do it again the next time he got drunk. And regardless of whether alcohol or stress was the cause, she wanted to take no chances that Kaiba would do it again.

But as adamant as she was about Kaiba's guilt, she had a feeling that it really _had_ been an accident. After all, she was aware of how Kaiba doted on Rei, almost to the point of obsession.

He's not my problem anymore, thought Serenity. _The police will make sure that he never gets near us again. I hope he gets put in jail for YEARS. I say good riddance to bad rubbish!_

Yet she still felt inexplicably bad, and somewhat guilty, that she took away from Kaiba the little baby he loved so much. She knew that he considered Rei somewhat of a surrogate-Mokuba, and now that Kaiba had neither, Serenity wondered how he was going to manage.

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

august 21, 2004

I would just like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the flashbacks during Virtual World, where we see Kaiba shoving Mokuba around. I want to justify that Kaiba is not OOC in this chapter.

V...V is taking away even more of my symbols. This is the **third** time I've had to change the header... this does not make a happy Sir Mocha...

I said that chapter 11 would be the last chapter of Part II, but once I wrote it, it was, like, millions of pages long. So I split it into two chapters, and chapter 12 is mostly written.

X...X School is starting on August 30th. Bleaaaaaagh……

I saw the Kaiba-licious YGO Movie. I must say, it was better than I thought, and I did enjoy it even though the absolute lack of plot gave me a headache. A…A

Next weekend is the end of Battle City!! ::sniff:: It's been a looooong time… how am I gonna adjust to the change? I didn't watch much of Duelist Kingdom, but I saw **all** of Battle City, and it'll be weird when it's something new. And I don't count Virtual World, because that was just **dumb**, and a waste of time.

Thanks a million to all my wonderful reviewers! Everyone who reviewed gets a Seto school supply kit! (It'd be so cool if they really made Kaiba notebook paper! That'd be awesome!) Various pens, pencils, folders, notebooks, binders, and backpacks to

Setine

Chibi-Kari

Wise Man Domingo

Tinyflyer02

Amanda – propz for being an Amanda!

lil twin stars

Court12 – I won't say right now how the ending will be. You'll just have to wait and see. A.A

Subaru – you also get propz for being an Amanda!

kikoken

IcyPanther – Do you think this story needs more humor?

yugi4ever

chii-chan

Meii-chan – I think if Soujiro met Kaiba, they'd be sucked into some sort of vortex and combine together to form one person. A.A They're so much the same…

Pamster – I saw your review, and my eyes just bugged out! That's the longest, and one of the best, reviews I've ever gotten! Thank you so much! I don't have kids (not at my age!!), so it's a bit hard for me to understand the bond between a parent and child, though I'm trying my best. And when you were referring to plushies, and a fertile imagination… O.O A...A


	12. r u i n

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

t u r m o i l

-V-

by sir mocha

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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chapter 12: r u i n

"Well, Mr. Kaiba, you're free to go," said the police officer jovially. "Though I'm supposed to remind you that, by the judge's orders, you aren't to go within a hundred yards of Miss Wheeler, or the baby. Still, all things considered, you're mighty luck that you escaped with only that, and a small fine."

"Well, I can be extremely persuasive when I need to be," grumbled Kaiba, unfurling his long limbs from the hard jail cot where he had spent the night. "I don't suppose you have my motorcycle?"

"As a matter of fact," stated the other officer, "we _did_ take it. It's currently parked outside, in the officer parking lot."

Kaiba nodded, and then headed towards the door of the small jail. Both officers exchanged knowing glances, and then the first officer blurted out, "Wait!"

Kaiba stared at him, his gaze plainly saying, 'This had better be important!'

The officer swallowed, trying to suppress the CEO-induced nervousness, then said, "I would advise you to exit out the back door, and come back later for the motorcycle."

"Well, why would I want to do that?" asked Kaiba snidely, irritated by the seeming irrationality of the statement.

"Just a suggestion is all," said the second officer. "A suggestion that you would be wise to heed."

"Whatever." Kaiba gave them a condescending look, then proceeded to the front door as he had originally planned.

"Well, don't say we didn't warn you!" chirped the first officer.

Kaiba strode confidently to the front door, trench coat billowing out in the true President-and-CEO-of-Kaiba-Corp fashion. How much did two half-wit police officers know anyway?

As soon as he flung open the door, Kaiba wished he had just ignored his damn stubbornness, and had followed the advice of the officers. He was momentarily blinded, both by the morning sunlight and by the countless flashbulbs going off in his direction.

Between the flashes, he could see the monumental crowd gathered in front of the jail. Myriads of men and women waved cameras, and microphones, while yelling questions to the bemused CEO.

****

"Is it true that you were arrested for child abuse?"

"Mr. Kaiba, is it true that an infant was hospitalized after you brutally attacked it?"

"Mr. Kaiba, what can you tell us about the child you had out of wedlock with your best friend's underage sister?"

"HANG ON!" he roared, seething. "The day Joey Wheeler is my best friend is the day I lose to him at Duel Monsters!"

Kaiba was in earshot of one reporter, who turned to his partner and said eagerly, "How's this for a headline? 'Defeat at card game prompts Seto Kaiba to seek harsh revenge against long time friend.' Snappy enough?"

Kaiba gritted his teeth. He pinched himself harshly, trying to wake up from this awful nightmare. He wanted to get back to a reality where he wasn't being hounded by reporters, he hadn't hit Rei the night before, and Joey Wheeler was not his newly proclaimed 'best friend'. But the pinch did nothing to improve the situation; rather, the small pain only angered him further.

He wanted to release the good old Kaiba anger, but felt that, considering what he was in trouble for, it would only make the situation look worse. Instead, he silently worked his way through the jungle of microphones, cameras, and newsmakers, wishing very much that he had access to the sprinkler system controls for the jail's lawn. But he didn't, and as he fought his way to his motorcycle, he had to endure countless questions about the topics of illegitimate children, child abuse, and lurid romantic involvement with Serenity.

As he finally reached his bike, he filled his lungs with air, and bellowed as loudly as he could, "I will be available to answer questions tomorrow morning at my estate. Anyone that I find on my property before tomorrow morning will be dealt with swiftly and appropriately." Then he pulled his helmet on, got on the bike, and gunned the engine, making the media clear a path for his escape. They knew very well that he would not hesitate to run over anyone in his way.

Riding out of the claustrophobia-inducing crowd, he took a satisfied breath of air, and felt rather pleased about his handling of that difficult incident. But his happiness was short lived, as he remembered the incident that had sparked this whole mess. He berated himself for losing his temper, after being told for years to control it, and release it in a more constructive form. But just like in the jail, he hadn't listened to the sound advice, and it had cost him dearly.

While he brooded, he passed the turn for the mansion. There was no way he was going to return to his house and face the reporters, as he had told them. No, he was going to that one place that offered a constant source of sanctuary from the public: Kaiba Corp.

****

-V-

"Well, that was a colossal waste of time," said one disgruntled reporter, throwing down his jacket on a desk with a nameplate that read '_J. Imman_'.

"I got a few pictures," replied his frustrated partner, whose nametag read '_Tazaki: Tokyo Journal_'. "But I got nothing except tabloid-worthy crap. It wasn't worth it to go all the way to Domino. We should have focused on that trade embargo article due soon."

"Well, one thing's for sure: I'm _not_ going to bother going out to Kaiba's mansion tomorrow. The other idiots may not have realized it, but I _know_ Kaiba isn't going to give them anything except another rude dismissal."

"Hey, check the answering machine, would you?" asked Tazaki. "Maybe someone actually left a message that _won't be_ a waste of time."

Imman leaned over, and hit the 'New Messages' button on the machine. The first message was left by a very thoughtful representative of a carpet cleaning company; the second, a request from a fellow journalist in the sports department. But the third message made Imman sit up, intrigued.

"Hello, Mr. Imman," said a voice in drawling English. "My name is Harrison, and I'm the CEO of N-Technologies, a corporation in the United States. Until recently, my company was a major partner of Kaiba Corp, and I had close, personal connections with Seto Kaiba.

"But let me get to the point. I have an offer you simply will not be able to refuse, because it will give you the biggest story of the year. Though I can't tell you directly, I _can_ say that you should take a closer look into Kaiba Corp's financial records from the past ten years. I've heard that you and your partner are the best of the best, and I am confident that you will be able to uncover the astonishing truth about the company.

"I am not an altruistic man. I am giving you this tip because I believe it would be mutually beneficial to both of us if you were to write this article. If you manage it correctly, it will give you the story of your lifetimes. As for myself… well, if you write this article, you will see very shortly how greatly I benefit.

"I urge you with the utmost sincerity to look into the matter, Mr. Imman, and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. If you have any questions, please give me a call. I do have one condition: once the matter is exposed, you cannot, under any circumstance, identify me as a source. It would be devastating for my career. I am taking a large risk for you, and I truly hope that you will honor my need for secrecy, and show your appreciation by keeping me anonymous. Happy hunting, and I have faith that you will triumph over corporate scandal."

Tazaki, who hadn't understood most of the message, looked inquiringly at Imman, who had a predatory smile on his face. "What was _that_ all about?" he asked.

"Forget trade embargoes! I just got a tip for the story of our careers!" he replied with malicious zeal.

****

-V-

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Kaiba?" asked Kurakane timidly. He had seen the morning's paper, and he sure as hell didn't want to face Kaiba right now.

Each man studied the other. Kurakane saw a weary, despairing CEO, who had a pinched look on his haggard face, and prominent bags under his tired blue eyes, which were much less cold and calculating than usual. Kurakane _knew_ that Kaiba had not been home for several days, and wondered if the prolonged office exposure was good for Kaiba's sanity. Indeed, Kaiba looked to be not entirely aware, which only discouraged Kurakane more: Kaiba Corp needed its CEO at his razor sharpest.

Kaiba blearily eyed the executive. Kurakane, usually so prim and polished, looked as if he'd just been through a grain thresher. Or, more likely, through a bloodthirsty mob.

"Well," said Kaiba, his voice hoarse, "is it as bad out there as it looks?"

Kurakane wondered how best to phrase his response. He didn't want to be the one responsible for his CEO's complete mental meltdown. "Well sir, it took me half an hour to get my car into the parking lot, and another half hour to stave off the overeager crowd of reporters and angry employees."

Kaiba looked at Kurakane's tattered suit, and said, "Well, it's all very evident to me now: I'm screwed, and if I step foot outside, I'm dead."

Kurakane remained tactfully silent.

"And now," said Kaiba, reaching into a secret drawer under his desk, "I think the time has come to execute Plan B."

Kurakane saw the pistol in the CEO's desperate hands, and said, "NO, Mr. Kaiba! You can _not_ do this!"

Kaiba stared up at him, gun held to one of his temples. "And why not?" he asked angrily. "I have NOTHING now! My family is DEAD, my daughter is GONE, and my company will NOT survive!" Kurakane was astonished to see tears leaking out of the corner of the CEO's eyes. "All my life, I've had to do things for OTHER people! I could never do what I _wanted_ to do, but what I HAD to do! But now that everything that matters is gone, I can finally chose what _I_ want to do for _myself_. So who are you to stop me?" He clicked the safety catch off.

"Mr. Kaiba," said Kurakane calmly, and soothingly, "you are one of the most powerful men in Japan, and as you know, with power comes responsibility. You say that this company will not survive. Whether that is true or not, you still have a responsibility to see this problem through to the very end. You cannot quit now."

Kaiba clicked on the safety catch of the pistol. He was glaring at Kurakane, but he knew that the older man was right. Seto Kaiba, President and CEO of Kaiba Corp, and the most determined man in Domino, did not just give up when things weren't going his way. He didn't want to be known as a quitter. That would not be a good epitaph on his upcoming tomb stone.

The glaring ceased when the window exploded. Both men ducked for minimal protection against the flying glass shards. After a moment, Kaiba lifted his head, sending a cloud of glass sparkling to the ground. As he walked across the office, more glass fell off him, and he winced at the feeling of shrapnel digging into his skin. His wince turned to a scowl when he saw the cause of the explosion: a large rock, emblazoned with the words, **We demand the TRUTH!**

As both men shrugged off their outer layers of glass-covered clothing, Kurakane said softly, "Mr. Kaiba, I think it would be wise to do as they request."

Kaiba walked over to the window, wondering what could have caused the rock to shatter the triple-reinforced glass. When his form became visible to the crowd below, Kaiba could hear loud calls of disapproval.

Reaching a very quick decision, Kaiba intercommed his secretary, and said, "Get me the journalists Imman and Tazaki. I want to speak to the men who caused all this."

****

-V-

"Well," said Kaiba, facing the two journalists, "you have effectively ruined me and my corporation with your article." He picked up the paper on his desk, with the headline; **100 MILLION DOLLARS EMBEZZLED IN MASSIVE KAIBA CORP SCANDAL!** He eyed it for a moment, then threw it back on the desk. "And considering that we kept this under strict security, I must wonder how you came to find out."

Tazaki spoke up. "It all stemmed from your arrest last week. When we were looking into that, we discovered the mismatched finance records. Apparently you did not cover it up as well as you thought."

Kaiba's eyes held all the warmth of a glacier as he said, "Seeing as how those are _strictly confidential_ documents, I think it rather bold of you to admit to looking through them. No, I think you and your partner are smart enough to stay within the law while investigating one of your stories, and I know how you found out.

"I think it quite foolish of my ex-accountants to talk, especially considering the strict gag order I put on them. And I think it _extremely_ foolish of Harrison to contact you, after the agreement we made."

Both Imman and Tazaki looked slightly flustered, cluing Kaiba that he was right. He gestured towards the door, and said, "You are dismissed."

"But we were promised an interview…" responded Imman, holding up a tape recorder.

The fury imbued in Kaiba's tone sent shivers down the spines of both the reporters. "You may be destroying my company, but this is still my building, and if you don't get out, I'm afraid I will have to lose my temper, which would be regrettable."

As Kurakane escorted the two shivering journalists out, Kaiba dialed Harrison's number, slipping the headset on, while the video component blackened the computer screen.

But soon enough, Harrison's office filled the screen, while the American slipped on a similar headset, a smirk on his face. "I thought I'd be seeing you soon, my boy."

"Harrison, I assume you saw the headline," Kaiba said wearily. "I thought we had agreed that you wouldn't reveal the whole accounting mess. That was the impression I got from our last conversation." His eyes filled with hatred at the remembrance of the evil things Harrison had confessed to doing.

Harrison's eyes held a spark of malice. "Well, Seto, I don't remember saying that, exactly. And I do feel sorry for you, my son: it must be difficult to have your company come tumbling down around you, while you're helpless to do anything but watch."

Kaiba ground his teeth audibly.

"But even now, lad, I'm willing to help you. The offer is still open: I'll buy Kaiba Corp from you, and take this whole mess off your hands."

Kaiba glanced outside at the angry mob. Harrison had him caught between a rock and a hard place, and he knew when to concede defeat. Now that the news of the scandal was out, Kaiba Corp finances were going to collapse, leaving Kaiba $100 million in debt. If he sold now, he would be left with nothing, and while that was not ideal, it would be better than the alternative. And if he sold now, Kaiba Corp would survive, and, with a little work, he would be able to earn it back. He had been outsmarted this one time, and he sure as hell wouldn't let it happen again.

Kaiba sighed, and with that one sigh, Harrison knew that he had, at long last, won this game.

****

-V-

"What is going on here?" asked Kaiba, hopping off his motorbike. "Who are you people, and what are you doing to my house?!"

The burly construction worker pointed towards a well-dressed man and woman who were busy overseeing the construction. "Buddy, if you have questions, you gotta ask those two. I'm jus' followin' orders."

Kaiba strode over to the pair, who were deep in conversation over a clipboard. "What is going on?" he shouted, startling the two.

The woman peered accusingly at him. "You're Seto Kaiba, aren't you?" she asked.

"Who do you THINK I am?" he said. "And what do you think you are doing to my HOUSE?"

"Mr. Kaiba, I'm afraid that this property no longer belongs to you," said the man, dressed in a suit and tie. "This house, and all its possessions, belong to Mr. Harrison, of N-Technolog—"

"What are you talking about? I bought this house with my own money! It's not Kaiba Corp's!" Kaiba's tone was one of disbelief.

"It was paid for with a bank account connected to Kaiba Corp. That makes it property of Kaiba Corporations, and property of Mr. Harrison."

"Kaiba Corp was linked to my personal bank account, not the other way around!" protested Kaiba.

"Be that as it may!" replied the man. "Anything even remotely connected to Kaiba Corp is now property of Mr. Harrison. That includes you bank account, and your house as well!"

"I don't believe this," said Kaiba faintly. Both the man and the woman could see that Kaiba was not himself. The trademark anger was missing, replaced by a distant, unbelieving confusion that was, in a way, worse than the anger.

The man and woman looked at the lost CEO with pity. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, but that's the way things are," said the woman compassionately. "It's not up to us to decide these things: we're told what to do, and we follow orders."

"What am I supposed to do?" asked Kaiba in that small voice. "I have no home, no money, and no job." As soon as he had had the papers of ownership of Kaiba Corp, Harrison had fired Kaiba. "What can I do?"

The man and woman looked at each other, at a loss for words.

"Well, can I get a few personal items?" asked Kaiba quietly. "Just things like drawings, and duel monster cards. And some clothes: small things like that."

"You are not allowed to take anything out of the house…" started the man.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, just let him have a few things!" snapped the woman, feeling sympathy for the CEO. "He's lost everything! I think we can bend the rules and let him have a _few_ things!" To Kaiba, she said, "Of course, you may get you things. But don't be too long about it: I could get in trouble for letting you do this."

"Thank you," said Kaiba gratefully. "I won't be long, I promise."

Fifteen minutes later, he exited the mansion, carrying a duffel bag that contained a few items. He gave the two supervisors one last look, of sadness and confusion, and then walked down the long driveway, towards the main road.

The woman turned to the man, and said, "He's been completely devastated. It's so sad, seeing the ruined shell of the powerful man he once was. I couldn't help but pity him."

The man nodded in agreement.

****

-V-

Once he was a few hundred feet away from the house, all traces of confusion and helplessness left Kaiba's face. His sharp blue eyes narrowed as he smirked, which turned to a chuckle, and then to an outright laugh.

__

Your acting was terrible. Those must be two of the thickest fools ever, to have fallen for it, said that voice in his head.

__

The important thing was, thought Kaiba, _I got the things I needed to get, and hopefully those two will spread the tale of a broken Seto Kaiba that the population will believe. _He felt quite lucky at this unforeseen benefit; it would be much better for everyone to think him feeble, and helpless. It would make gaining Kaiba Corp back a much easier task, when people didn't suspect him.

Kaiba had nothing: no friends, or family, or job, or house: nothing but the clothes on his back, and the items in his duffel. There was a part of him that had already given into despair, a part that had truly been broken. He would never be the same as he once was.

But stronger than this fog of despair was a beacon of determination that shone through it. Kaiba had had everything taken from him, but in no way did that mean he was just going to passively let it happen. He was going to take back what was his: his life had purpose, and a goal to fulfill, and Kaiba was going to accomplish this task.

He took his determination, and his forming plan, and tucked them away in a pocket of his mind, to be pulled out and examined later. Those things would have to wait. He had more pressing issues to attend to, like finding a place to spend the night.

.

.

****

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

End of Part II

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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.

V- september 16, 2004 –V

Ah… and so Part II comes to a close. I think we can all agree that Parts I and II can be described as angst-centered, with very little (if any at all). Part III will be more romance than angst, and I'm also going to try for some action/adventure. So it will be quite different, except at the very end, where the angst will return in full throttle! And with the end of Part III will come the end of the story. So we are about two-thirds done with our angsty adventure…

I made a C2 called **Kaiba Corp **(there's a link in my profile), and it's a C2 for _good_ stories that have Kaiba in an important role. I'm looking for some staff members, so if you're interested, leave it in a review or email me. Also, if you have any recommendations of _good_ Kaiba stories, tell me about them so I can add them.

On a related note, I'm looking for a Bakura C2 to join. If you know of any of them, can you please tell me?

Life-size animatronic Seto robots (kind of creepy, I know) for all the lovely people that reviewed! (And by the way, how many of you have changed your pen names since August? I don't recognise a lot of them, and I know I recognised them when I got them.)

****

Tinyflyer02  
lil twin stars – ooh, a stalker…**  
Passion Wind  
Wise Man Domingo  
pinkdreamer122  
The Dark Angel Reborn – **I was not impressed with the YGO movie plot, and the end _was_ weak. But I had fun with it AA  
**IcyPanther **– I think I implied that Gozaburo was abusive. And if I didn't, well, I meant to. It a factor that shapes Kaiba's relationship with Rei.  
**kikoken **– sorry for making Kaiba mean, but he will _definitely_ make up for what he did.  
**Meii-chan **– on the show, Serenity is a total wuss, and I can't stand her. I made her more interesting. AA And your Soujiro doll was cool…and kinda creepy, too…

And, as usual, another fabulous prize in store for all those who **review**. (hint hint)


	13. n e c e s s i t y

Originally posted: 6/4/05  
Reposted: 6/11/05

I don't think anyone (myself included) was expecting this story to come alive again. Yet here we are, at the beginning of the long (long long long) awaited Part III.

In addition to posting new chapters, I've begun a massive edit of the entire story, which includes taking out all my old A/Ns, reformatting all the chapters to compile with damn restrictions (goodbye symbols… what will I do without you?), and fixing some of the content problems I had with the actual story.

I deleted the previous chapter 13, and I know it contained an outline of the rest of the plot, but I hope people can forgive me for that, because I've received sudden motivation to continue. If I decide to give up again, I'll repost the epilogue.

Well, here's hoping this works out better the second time around.

Much thanks to everyone who reviewed the (previous…) chapter 13!

-

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

****

island of red flowers

-V-

by sir mocha

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

-

PART III: TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

-

****

chapter 13: n e c e s s i t y

"Hurry up, 'Ren!" yelled Joey, balancing a bowl of popcorn, sodas, and a stack of DVDs. "We can't start the movies without you!"

Serenity bustled into the room, giving Joey a Look. "Fine, then next time I'LL make the popcorn, and YOU can give Rei a bath, ok?" She laughed at the look of fear in her brother's eyes. "And can you remind me again WHY we are doing this?"

"Because," he said, batting his eyes at her, "it's my birthday and you said we could do what I wanted for my birthday!"

She picked up the top movie off the stack, and looked at it, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "Yeah, but staying up all night watching horror movies isn't exactly what I had in mind."

"Why?" he taunted. "Afraid you'll get too scared?"

She smirked. "Come to think of it, why ARE you doing this? Don't you jump any time anyone says the word 'ghost'? Don't you remember your duel with Bonz in the graveyard?"

He jumped, then replied shakily, "THAT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!"

She giggled. "Oh, Joey, you're priceless. Now give me some of that popcorn. What's up first for tonight?"

"Eh…" he said, shuffling his arms around in order to read the movie label, "The Re-Deadening."

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Just what I always wanted to see."

An hour later, Serenity stared at the screen, paying rapt attention to the movie while a quivering Joey huddled at her side, peeking out at the screen between his fingers pressed tightly over his eyes.

"_You want me to…kill mummy?" asked the little girl on the screen, her blonde ringlets glowing eerily in the moonlight as she stared at her rag doll. _

The rag doll stared back at the girl with menacing black button eyes.

"But… but she's been ever so good to us…" replied the little girl.

The doll stared sinisterly, as the door behind the little girl creeked open…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

"AaaaAAagh!" screamed Joey, diving behind the couch.

Serenity jumped, but quickly regained her composure. She paused the movie, then got up off the couch and headed for the front door, looking at the clock and wondering who could be visiting them so late.

Cursing the lack of a peephole in the door, she slid the chain lock in securely (one could never be too careful in this neighborhood), then opened the door a crack.

And screamed.

The hallway was dark, save for the moonlight entering in though the grimy windows. Though the shadows she could just make out a tall, thin form shrouded in black, something dark at its feet. The moonlight, passing through the window unevenly, cast a beam across the person's face, which illuminated two great blue eyes.

"Edgy, Wheeler?" asked the figure, amused by her reaction. "Was that you who screamed a few moments ago? No, I'd bet it was your brother, wasn't it?"

"WHAT are you DOING here, Kaiba?" spat Serenity, shaking with anger. "You KNOW you AREN'T supposed to BE here! Leave, or I swear I'll call the cops!" She started to shut the door on him.

He stuck a foot in, wincing a bit when she slammed the door against it. "Wait, hold on a sec, Wheeler… Serenity. I need to talk to you.

"Please."

The sudden change in Kaiba's demeanor threw Serenity off. There he was, being his usual arrogant self one moment… but now, he sounded almost… well… desperate.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say in the hall. Rei's sleeping inside, and I don't want you anywhere near her," she responded scathingly.

Even though the door was open only a few inches, Kaiba could have sworn that Serenity had reached out and dealt him a vicious blow. "Listen, Whe-Serenity, please listen. I know you don't want to believe me, but I am truly sorry for what I did to Rei."

"So what," she replied shortly, "you've come here to apologize and repent, and hope I forgive you because you need my help now? I've seen the papers, Kaiba. I know you're in a shitload of trouble, and you lost your company and your house. You deserve everything that's happened, and I'm NOT going to help you now."

"You tell 'im, Serenity!" said Joey, still behind the couch. "Stick it to Moneybags where it hurts!"

Kaiba was silent. He had to marvel over Serenity's quick thinking. He _had_ come to ask her to forgive him, and to ask for her help. He was going to have to come up with a new strategy now, and fast.

"Wheeler, Serenity, please? During that damn Paradias incident, your friend Yami did some pretty crappy things, and yet you all forgave him, right? He, apparently-" Kaiba gritted his teeth. He would never, NEVER accept the validity of so-called 'magic' "- he SACRIFICED Yugi so he could get power. And yet, everyone forgave him because he went to such great lengths to get him back."

Joey was silent. Having been deeply involved in the Paradias incident, Joey knew firsthand how Yami had turned to evil. For once, the blond had no smart retort for Kaiba. Serenity had heard the story from Duke, and she reluctantly found herself agreeing with Kaiba's point.

Kaiba continued. "I know I wronged Rei, and in a terrible way. Yet I'm willing to go to great lengths to rectify the problem. I want to earn her, and YOUR, trust back." And then, astonishing Serenity, he got down on his knees. "Please."

Serenity was silent for a moment. Then, "I don't know if this is a thing you can "rectify", Kaiba."

He held up his hands, almost as if he were BEGGING, and said, "I can. I can love Rei, and care for Rei, more than you could imagine."

The ex-CEO looked so piteous, kneeling, begging, that Serenity felt her resolve weaken. To her, it seemed that he was truly, deeply sorry, and she wondered if perhaps she really should give him a second chance.

Joey could sense Serenity's indecision, and jumped up off the ground. He stalked towards the door, and said, "No, Serenity, NO! This is Kaiba, remember? He's a goddamn bastard who will never change, and you're naïve if you think he can."

"Don't call me naïve," said Serenity angrily. "Maybe you're just CLOSED-MINDED if you think he can't!" And before she knew it, she slid the chain from the door and threw it open.

Kaiba walked tentatively into the room, duffel bag hanging off one shoulder. When Serenity saw him, she had to do a double take – he was not up to his usual standards. Instead of standing arrogantly, he was slouched. His hair was mussed, the bags under his eyes were, if anything, larger, and instead of the usual smirk his mouth was curved tiredly.

Joey stared at the taller young man, who had abandoned his trench coat and leather for sweat pants and a tee shirt. It looked like he had gotten kicked out of his house in the middle of the night… and considering what time it was, there was probably some truth to that. "You look like crap, Moneybags."

Kaiba glanced at him, but without the usual cold calculation. In fact, he looked a great deal like, well… a whipped puppy. Oh the irony… Kaiba longed to spit insults back at the blond, but under the present circumstances decided it wouldn't be the best action to take. He remained silent.

Joey stared, bemused at the behavior of his usual tormentor. "You must really be sick or something, Kaiba. You should probably go to the hospital."

"And pay for it _how_?" he asked quietly.

"Joey," interrupted Serenity, "I… I guess I'm willing to give him another chance, and he's promised he can change. We could probably manage to let him stay here. It's true, he could help out with Rei, so I wouldn't have to worry about her when I'm at work, or school…" she trailed off upon seeing her brother's focused stare.

Joey looked back and forth between the two, then finally threw up his hands in consternation. "Fine, Serenity, FINE. You know what this jerk's capable of, so if you are still so eager to let him stay here, it's YOUR problem!" He stalked across the room, and threw open the front door. The mildewed walls shook upon the loud slam, and the two could hear angry footsteps pound down the hall.

Serenity muttered, "Happy birthday, Joey…" which was followed by an awkward silence.

Kaiba was the first to speak. "Don't worry, Wheeler. He'll be back. He doesn't like me much, as I'm sure you know."

Serenity turned to face Kaiba, and said cheerfully, "Oh, I know. In fact, I'm quite surprised; that confrontation went a lot better than I hoped. My brother must be warming up to you."

Kaiba deadpanned. "Oh, God forbid."

-V-

"He killed your brother?" Serenity gasped, absolutely floored at the revelation.

Kaiba winced. _Tactful, Wheeler_, he thought bitterly. He stared down broodingly at the mug of tea clamped in his tight grasp. "He told me so. He mocked me, laughed at me, because there was nothing I could do about it at that point."

"Well, you have to tell the police! This is _murder_, Kaiba! That jerk can't get away with it!" she said indignantly.

Thought Kaiba again winced at her choice of words, he had to admit that it was nice to have someone on _his_ side for once, mad _for_ him instead of _at_ him. "Wheeler, I had just been exposed as a liar and a fraud. Do you really think the police would believe _me_, or would they believe an upstanding technological tycoon like Edward Harrison?"

"But that's… that's just not fair," she said, with all the conviction of an idealistic schoolgirl, not yet fully exposed to the harsh outside world.

He eyed her. "Not everything in life is."

From one of the bedrooms of the apartment, Kaiba could hear the wailing that announced that Rei had woken.

Serenity stood up. "That's strange… she usually doesn't wake in the middle of the night. Let me go get her… you probably want to say hi anyway."

"No, don't bother," he said, standing up. "I'll go take care of it. You can stay here and drink your tea."

She eyed him warily for a second, and he said, "You'll never be able to trust me if you don't give me a chance."

Slowly, she nodded, and he walked down the short hall towards the bedrooms. He entered one, which he assumed to be Serenity's due to its light blue décor. In the corner of the room was a cheap crib, and when he walked towards it he could see in it the figure of his daughter, lying under a soft blanket.

He picked her up, which felt like the most natural action in the world, sitting her upright on one arm while supporting her back with the other. When she saw that it was he, she stopped her crying, and stared at him with her vivid blue eyes.

He stared back, trying to divine her feelings through her eyes. She had always struck him as unusually insightful and wise for one so young, and he almost _knew_ that she was remembering the incident, and considering whether or not to forgive him.

Suddenly, she cuddled up to him, and closed her eyes contentedly. He smiled down at her, relieved to have received her acceptance. He bent his head down, and kissed her head tenderly.

A noise at the bedroom door made him turn. He glanced over and saw Serenity smiling at him, a witness to the tender scene that had just unfolded. As she approached the two, Kaiba studied her face. Were those _tears_ in her eyes?

She said quietly, "It seems Rei has forgiven you, so I guess I should too. It really was an accident, wasn't it?"

"It was," he responded just as softly.

"In that case, you're welcome to stay here for as long as it will take you to get back on your feet," she said, gently sliding her arms through his to take Rei from his hold.

Reluctantly, Kaiba handed Rei off to her mother, his only consolation the knowledge that he would be welcome to see her the next day, and for every day after that.

Once Serenity had a firm grip on the baby, she turned to Kaiba. "Joey was right, Kaiba. You _do_ look awful."

"I haven't slept much in the past few days," he admitted.

"Well, there's a couch in the front room. It doesn't fold out into a bed, but it's still pretty comfortable anyway. I'm sorry we have nothing better to offer, but…" she trailed off, awkward to talk about money around the ex-CEO who used to taunt her about it.

"It's fine," he replied. "I'm lucky to _have_ a couch tonight… I thought I would have to sleep on a bench in the park." He yawned widely, then turned and walked out of the bedroom, but not before muttering a very uncharacteristic "Good night."

"Good night, Kaiba," said Serenity in response, then turned to the crib to put a very complacent Rei back to bed. She fussed with Rei's blanket, and smoothed out the baby's hair, singing softly under her breath.

"You're lucky, you know," she said to the drowsy baby. "Now you'll have someone good to look after you during the day, who will take care of you very well and love you very much."

Kaiba, drifting off to sleep in the next room, overheard this and grinned.

-

**V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V**

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**A/N:** Ah, nothing like a short and sweet chapter to get back in the swing of things. Never fear, folks; our protagonist's life sucks right now, but it will get better and more exciting, I assure you. And of course, there's a little romance ahead as well…

As usual, reviews are greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear from some of the old turmoil gang… I wonder if you guys will rediscover this story, and if you'll continue reading…


	14. r e v e l a t i o n

Originally posted: 6/11/05

Can anyone catch the HP reference? I thought it was quite appropriate, considering the circumstances… And also, in the last chapter, I forgot to credit The Simpsons for "The Re-Deadening"… my all-time favorite fictional movie.

If anyone reviews anonymously, can you please leave me your email address? There was one reviewer, Harpiesbro06, who had a lot of questions that I would have answered but I didn't have an email address to reply to!

If anyone finds formatting problems in any chapters (excessive italics, repeated paragraphs, etc.) can you please let me know so I can fix the problem? Thanks!

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Hugs and kisses to everyone who reviewed chapter 13! I'm glad to hear from some of you again, and I'm glad to hear from new people as well!

Many people said they didn't like the new title; if you really have a problem with it, email me (blackcrow106 at hotmail dot com) and I can give you a thorough explanation as to why I chose it, and why it's better.

Editing the whole story is very annoying… but it's also a good chance for me to go back and read the stuff I wrote so long ago. I even forgot about some loose threads that need tying up, so in general, I would recommend EVERYONE to give their stories a good edit!

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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island of red flowers

-V-

by sir mocha

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V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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chapter 14: r e v e l a t i o n

Kaiba woke as the sun shone through the uncurtained window directly onto his face. Glaring at the blinding object, he flipped himself over, hoping that by hiding his face in the couch cushions, he could get back to sleep.

Unfortunately, _someone_ (probably the Mutt) had at one point spilled nacho cheese all over the couch, and though the cheese had long ago been washed away, the odor remained in the fabric, much to Kaiba's disgust.

Confronted with the nauseating smell, he groaned and heaved himself upright. He had the feeling that it was much too early to be up, especially for one who had gotten a grand total of about 15 hours of sleep the whole week. In fact, even sleeping on the cheese-contaminated sofa, he had gotten more sleep this past night than he had the few nights before, put together.

Now that he was up, and would not be going back to sleep, he figured he should at least try to make breakfast, to help out and to start paying for his stay here. He wandered into the kitchen, and found some bread and margarine, and decided that at the very least he should be able to make some toast for the three of them.

He quickly discovered that his skills in the domestic arts were sorely lacking. Now, in addition to being an abysmal piano player, he realized that he was an abominable chef, and tried to contain the fire that had somehow, _somehow_ broken out on the toaster. He had merely put the bread in, and for whatever reason, the damn thing had burst into flames. Perhaps it was an omen.

Serenity, dressed for school, was horrified to see copious amounts of thick black smoke issuing from the kitchen. She ran into the room… and despite the potential danger, she couldn't help bursting out laughing.

Kaiba was standing in the center of the room, fire extinguisher in hand, spraying at the area that contained the toaster. His clothes were disheveled from sleeping in them all night… and his _hair_! Apparently he hadn't thought to bring a comb with him, and the usual orderly mullet was sticking up in the oddest of places, strongly reminding Serenity of a cross between a tumbleweed and Yami Marik.

Once the fire was under control, Kaiba turned to Serenity. He blinked his soot-darkened eyelids (one must wonder how burnt toast could produce _soot_, and yet, here was living proof), and scowled at her hysterical giggles.

"You design complicated holographic simulation technology, and you can fly a _jet_, and yet you don't know how to use a toaster?" she asked once she had gotten her breath back.

He scowled indignantly. "I am certain I did nothing wrong. It was an unfortunate accident."

She smiled. "Yeah, maybe I should have warned you that we haven't used that toaster in months… it had electrical problems, but we never got it fixed, or threw it away. Oops."

He looked at her irately, then stalked off to the bathroom to try to tame his wild appearance.

Twenty minutes later he emerged, smelling strongly of the floral-scented soap he had been forced to use to clean off. He wandered into the kitchen, and spotted a note, addressed to him, written in Serenity's rounded handwriting.

__

Kaiba, there are a few things you need to do today, please.

Firstly, go to the grocery store and get  
-a loaf of bread (whole wheat)  
-a box of cereal  
-a carton of eggs  
-a half-gallon of skim milk  
-a 64 pack of diapers (get the store brand, they're the cheapest)  
There's money on the table. I expect to get change.

Secondly, go to the library and return this stack of library books, and ask for the ones on hold under "Wheeler, Serenity." My library card is next to the money.

Thirdly, take Rei to the park, and feed the ducks. She loves that. There's formula in bottles in the fridge, and her diaper bag is on the chair next to the TV.

Can you make sure that Joey's up by 8:30? Sometimes he sleeps through his alarm, and he needs to be up by 8:30 to get to work on time.

I'll be home by 3:00, but I have to leave shortly after for work. I would ask you to make dinner tonight, but in all honesty, I don't trust you in the kitchen. I think you would manage to burn a salad.

Kaiba detected a small amount of sarcasm in her note, but at the same time, had to marvel at her organizational skills. Everything – money, library card, books – was laid out neatly on the table, and she seemed to have the entire day planned out.

Kaiba glanced over at the clock above the oven. 7:30… that gave him a little while before he had to wake the mutt, and a few hours before he had to run those errands.

He walked a few feet to the couch, and his duffel bag that lay beside it. He rummaged around, pushing aside junk, until he pulled out a sheaf of papers. He brought these over to the kitchen table, and spread them out, intently studying the blueprints for the interior of the downtown Kaiba Corp building.

****

-V-

Fortunately, Kaiba hadn't needed to venture into the dangerous vortex of filth, otherwise known as Joey's room. The mutt had woken himself up, frightened from nightmares of scary children and murderous rag dolls. Kaiba had heard the audible _thump_ of the blond falling out of his bed, and heard the subsequent series of profanities that resulted from an unpleasant wakeup.

When Joey entered the kitchen/living room area, he stopped dead at the sight of Kaiba. Kaiba could see the other bristling at the invasion of his home by his worst enemy.

Kaiba spoke first. "Wheeler, for your sister's sake, I would like to call a temporary truce to hostilities between us. I realize that I am a guest in your home, and am staying here through your and your sister's good graces, and I would like to make it as pleasant an experience as possible for everyone involved."

Joey blinked, processing Kaiba's words. "Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good idea, Kaiba. Don't mess with me, and I won't mess with you." He nodded curtly, then strode towards the door, muttering under his breath.

The brunet turned his attention back to the Kaiba Corp plans. He was studying possible entrances or exits into and out of the building, when crying noises emerged from Rei's bedroom.

He rushed in, nervous; Rei did not often cry (last night had been one of the few times), and he was worried that her cries signified that something was wrong. He dashed into the bedroom and looked frantically towards the crib… only to see a happily gurgling Rei.

"I swear," he said to her, "you're mocking me, aren't you? You know I'll drop whatever I'm doing, and come running in, if you start wailing." He smiled; he had been told that, as a baby, he had done the same thing. "Well, at least you're not a moron like _certain_ people who live in this apartment."

Rei looked at him reproachfully as he changed her diaper.

"Ok, ok, I know you like your Uncle. I actually made an agreement not to taunt him anymore. But you won't tell him I said he's a moron, will you?" he asked, in a mock-serious tone.

Rei blew a raspberry at him.

He taped her diaper shut, then hefted her up in the air and held her aloft and stared at her. "Madam, you seemed to have developed quite an attitude in the past few weeks. I think you've been spending too much time with your mother… talk about an attitude…" Kaiba considered Serenity's perpetual cleverness, and her quick retorts, and had to shake his head in admiration. _She's almost as good as I am._

"Well," he continued, watching Rei squirm around, eager to get down, "I think you need some fatherly influence time, so I can undo whatever evils Serenity has instilled in you."

He carried her into the kitchen, and strapped her into her high chair at the table. Then he went into the kitchen to microwave a bottle of formula for her breakfast. (He hoped not to have another repeat of the morning's fire incident, and was relieved when the microwave _bing_ed successfully.)

He took an apple for himself, then sat down at the table and turned on the television, thinking to see the morning news like usual. He wished he hadn't.

****

Disgraced CEO Seto Kaiba sells out to major competitor! read a headline on the bottom of the screen. The anchorman was detail the transaction, and the immediate takeover of Kaiba Corp by N-Technologies.

Kaiba put the half-eaten apple down, his appetite gone. He sighed, shook his head, and buried his face in his hands for a moment, absolutely silent.

Rei stopped drinking, and looked at her father. He had come back into her life very suddenly, though she wasn't surprised. She knew Daddy was a good person (well, when he wasn't too stressed he was a good person), and she knew that Mommy was a good person, and she knew that Mommy wouldn't keep Daddy away forever.

Daddy looked funny now, though. He was wearing different clothes (not those strange ones anymore), and his hair was messy and his eyes tired. And yet, in some ways, he was exactly the same. Take right now, for example; he was staring at the TV, smiling like he did before he would yell at his workers. It was a funny face.

Kaiba smirked at the TV. _So now Harrison's touting himself as CEO of Kaiba Corp? Harrison, old friend, the public will be calling for you to step down very very soon. I'll give you a taste of being CEO… and then I'll ruin you, and before you know it, you'll be in jail and I'll be back._

Seto Kaiba, child prodigy and expert CEO, was planning.

****

-V-

Though if anyone had been witness to the present scene, they would have doubted the CEO's ability to plot and scheme company takeovers, when he couldn't even handle mundane tasks like grocery shopping.

"Couldn't her directions have been a _bit_ more specific?" lamented Kaiba, as he stared up in despair at the shelves and shelves of whole-wheat breads.

It had been difficult enough even _finding_ the bread aisle; if he had been in charge of the grocery store, he would have come up with a _logical_ method for organizing food. Who on earth put the baked goods between condiments and canned foods?

And why so _many_ different types of the same kind of bread? There were brands left and right, weaving a dizzying spell of colors and words that confused Kaiba to no end.

He was Seto Kaiba, (soon to be) President and CEO of Kaiba Corp. He had people to do this stuff _for_ him.

Finally, he just closed his eyes and tugged one randomly from the shelf. He opened his eyes to see the loaf (Grandma's Stone-Ground All Natural Hearth-Baked) in his hand… and the multitude of loaves at his feet, which his actions had sent tumbling to the floor.

He threw the loaf in the cart, looked around for any observers, and high-tailed it out of the aisle. He didn't want any irate employees to come up and yell at him… again. (He would always carry the scars of the Great Cereal Aisle Fiasco. All those sharp, gaudy boxes… falling… falling… )

He checked the list, and sighed with relief. "It's about time we got out of this hell hole," he informed Rei, and wheeled his way to the cashier.

As she rang up his groceries, the young cashier stared blatantly at Kaiba. He was no fool; he knew that he would attract a lot of attention doing domestic errands in downtown Domino, and of course he was prepared with a knockout disguise…

…Well, if dark sunglasses and a baseball cap constituted a knockout disguise. (The sunglasses were his. He had ventured into the Mutt's room to find the cap, and had checked it thoroughly for fleas before putting it on.)

"You look familiar," said the cashier. "Are you on TV, or something?"

"Uh, no," he said, rising his voice an octave, as he nervously pulled the brim of the cap down to shadow his face.

She stared more intently, then smiled. "Oh, I know! You kinda resemble my old boss; yeah, I used to work at Kaiba Corp, and I was Kaiba's secretary. He was hot, sure, but he was such a jerk! He fired me, and I didn't even do anything!"

Kaiba had to bite back a scathing retort. "Oh, is that so?" he asked. _Maybe _that _is why he fired you…_ He remembered this particular secretary as extraordinarily creepy. He could stand fans in moderation (after all, he was Seto Kaiba; of course the public would admire him). But this girl proved to be a little too obsessive for comfort. When he had found the pictures in her desk, pictures of his face taped on another man's naked body (the thought made him shudder), he had decided it was time for her to go.

Kaiba paid for his groceries, then snatched up the bag in one arm, Rei in the other, and sprinted for the door. He wouldn't feel comfortable until he was far far away from his neurotic fan.

****

-V-

__

Silly creatures, thought Kaiba scornfully. _Why do they fight like that for morsels of soggy bread?_

Kaiba was sitting on a bench in the park, Rei beside him. This bench was one of several that bordered a small pond, habituated by a population of ducks. At present, the entire flock was in front of their bench, quacking and squawking and honking for the scraps of bread Kaiba was throwing in the lake.

Rei was delighted by the antics of the waterfowl. She was giggling and clapping her hands in jubilation as the ducks pushed and shoved for the free meal. Kaiba watched, slightly envious; how did people find delight in such simple things? He was happy after winning a duel, or firing indolent employees, or working the snarls out of a reluctant computer program. He enjoyed things that set him apart from others, that demanded intellect and prowess.

He tried to see it from the duck watcher perspective. They got to sit for hours – and watch the ducks – watch the ducks flap around like feathered idiots –

The activity was beyond him.

To pass the time, he decided to study the park. To the left of the pond was a path leading to a close-by fountain. Behind was a large play field, where there were always obnoxious sports teams vying for some insignificant goal or another. To the right was a broad path that lead down a tree-lined boulevard.

__

"Seto! Seto! Watch me climb this tree!" yelled Mokuba exuberantly to his older brother.

Kaiba stiffened. It seemed such a short time ago that Mokuba would scamper down these paths, oblivious to the dangers of skinned knees in favor of climbing one of the ancient trees, with limbs that would allow him to climb so very high towards the sky.

__

Mokuba was at the top of the tree, perched precariously on the uppermost branch. He suddenly pitched forward with a little squeak, and Seto sprinted, ready to catch his younger brother. But Mokuba caught himself adeptly, and laughed. "I tricked you!" he said gleefully.

Mokuba had always been the more carefree of the Kaiba brothers. He would have understood this duck watching activity… and he would have taken part with enthusiasm, cheering and laughing as the ducks got their bread.

Kaiba looked over at Rei, imagining Mokuba in her place. Imagining her in Mokuba's place. Imagining her scampering along, running towards the ice cream stand – only to have her life cut painfully short by one savage businessman.

Kaiba could feel his eyes getting hot at the thought of the pain, at the thought of the loss of another innocent life.

He would not allow Harrison a second chance.

"Kaiba!" yelled a voice in the distance. Kaiba turned abruptly to see a figure with long auburn hair strolling down the path.

"Quiet!" he reproached Serenity. "I'm trying to keep a low profile."

"Oh yeah," she laughed, "nothing suspicious about dark sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled down to your chin. Is that Joey's?"

"Would I own a garment like this?" he asked her, indicating the garish baseball cap. "I could care less about foreign sports."

"Well there's no one else around," she replied, "so you can remove the getup. You look ridiculous."

Kaiba scowled, but removed the apparel.

"I take it you got the errands done?" she asked him.

He nodded dumbly, trying to suppress the memory.

"Good," she said, and the conversation descended into awkward silence as the two watched Rei, who was contentedly eating bread.

"I thought you had work?" he asked.

"I do. I just got home, and noticed that neither of you was there. I've got a couple of minutes to spare before I have to go, so I decided to check the park."

He looked over at her black and white waitress uniform. "Ah," he said.

There was another awkward silence, longer than the first. Serenity realized that all she or the CEO ever talked about were Rei, her brother (and his many shortcomings), or mundane topics like current events and the weather. She could never remember having a true conversation with the uptight man.

So it was quite surprising when, out of the blue, Kaiba asked her, "What is the appeal of watching ducks?"

……What this some sort of joke? For that matter, did Kaiba ever joke? She stared at him, but he appeared completely serious, staring into her eyes with his deep blue ones.

She contemplated. "Well, I guess people like watching the ducks because ducks lead simpler lives. Their goals in life are to eat, and to live, and they aren't troubled by all the problems we face. They eat the food at one pond, and then when there's no more they fly away to another one. If they're hungry, they can leave their problems behind and start over easily. They're simple creatures, and they're amusing to watch. Sometimes people just like to relax, and forget the complications of their lives."

Kaiba turned, to stare out over the lake at the ducks, which were rising from it in formation. He watched as they spread their wings, and one by one flew up into the air. "_They can leave their problems behind and start over easily." Hah, if only it were that easy._

Suddenly he felt something warm wrap around his shoulders. He instinctively jerked away, and stared down in amazement at Serenity, who was blushing the most luminous shade of red.

"Did you… was that…?" He was at a loss for words.

"I'm so sorry… I really shouldn't have done that. It's just, you looked so sad… you looked like you needed a hug." She jumped up from the bench, as if something had stung her. "I really have to get to work… I'll see you later." And with that, she was out of there like a renegade cannon shot.

This day was just getting stranger and stranger for the confused young man. He was at a total loss for words, and had no idea what to make of Serenity's strange attack. He considered the fact that it was his irresistible charm that had made the girl throw herself at him. (After all, it seemed that none of the girls of Domino were impervious to his good lucks and riches). Women would do the oddest things in his presence.

__

Then why has she never expressed any desire for me before? he pondered. _All those outings, all those meetings, she never once _looked_ at me in any more-than-platonic way? Why not? What is there about her that's so different from other women? Why doesn't _she_ worship me?_

All at once, Kaiba realized that he was a bit hurt by the idea. Before he had brushed off his hoards of admirers as an annoyance, but now he was, dare he even think it, _upset_ because he failed to catch the eye of one girl? He didn't know why he was taking it so personally; this was _Wheeler_, sister of the Mutt! She was nothing special to him! Why should he care!

__

Well, she's not like most bimbos her age, he had to admit. While he saw too many a gaggle of giggling girls swarming the streets of Domino, gossiping and wasting time shopping and staring at guys, Kaiba knew that Serenity attended school half the day, then went straight to her job and did not get home until late at night. And of course, once she was home she had to take care of her brother (who could not possibly fend for himself, or so Kaiba assumed) and Rei. She worked almost as hard as he did, and yet she still managed to be bright and cheerful, which he would never achieve.

And she was a good mother, too. He thought back to the previous night, when she had taken Rei so gently into her arms, and held her there so lovingly… the moonlight spilling though the window over the two, reflecting off Serenity's auburn hair and giving it an ethereal look. Her lips, as she murmured good night, round and red and perfect in the pale light… her small nose, and her large eyes, framed by long lashes…

And all at once Kaiba understood. He had read about such cases, of course, but had never experienced the condition for himself, preferring to bury himself in his work and avoid exposure to the pathogen. He had contracted it so suddenly, it caught him completely off guard. But he refused to lie to himself when he knew the truth.

He had, for lack of a better word, a _crush_ on Serenity.

__

NO! protested his panicked brain. _I don't like her! She's a Wheeler! She's probably as bad as her brother! She's probably worse!_

But Kaiba knew that wasn't true. He sifted through his memories with her; going to the zoo and watching her make faces at the hippos, strolling though the park watching her push the stroller while talking about her brother's latest duel monsters endeavors, sitting with her on the desert island while building a sand castle for Rei…

__

YOU IDIOT! raged the voice in his head. _You're an absolute moron, you hear me? How could you, completely out of the blue, fall head over heels for some girl! Huh? HUH? You're Seto Kaiba, President and CEO of Kaiba Corp! You're a businessman now, not some hopeless teenager with overactive hormones! You hate the Mutt, and you hate anything to do with the Mutt! Don't be stupid, and DON'T think you're "in love". You're incapable of love!_

__

That's not true, Kaiba realized thunderstruck. _I have ALWAYS loved Mokuba, and I love Rei! _He paused, and realized, _Maybe if I can love them… I can love others too. Maybe I really AM in love…_

Rei shrieked, bringing Kaiba out of his reverie. She stared at him, with an expression he suspected was mocking amusement.

"Ok, ok, Miss Smarty," he said impatiently. "I know you're so much more intelligent than I am, but I really do need to figure this out."

"Da da da," she said reproachfully.

"It's just… why, right now, why all of a sudden do I realize this? Is it supposed to happen this quickly?" Kaiba mused.

She stared up at him blankly.

"Of course, of course, you're a baby. Still, you have as much experience as I do in matters like these. I could use all the help I can get." He sorely wished there was a book somewhere that would tell him how to go about deciding whether or not these spontaneous notions were an indicator of true underlying feelings, or if it was just some biological fluke in his brain that a good night's sleep would take care of.

__

Damn Wheeler. This is all her fault. That "hug" of hers was the catalyst that started all these problems… maybe she should just keep her hands to herself.

Mutely, Kaiba realized that this was the last thing he wanted.

And then he realized, maybe the hug signified that Serenity felt affection for him too.

****

-V-

Kaiba was sitting at the table, tracing over the Kaiba Corp blueprints with a pencil and making notes. He got up and walked into the kitchen to pour himself another mug of tea – and thought he could hear the sounds of the door creaking open, as if the enterer did not want herself to be heard.

He turned abruptly, and saw Serenity in the act of tiptoeing across the room, heading for the hall. She caught his eye, and turned a magnificent shade of scarlet. He remembered her embarrassment that afternoon, and felt his face warm slightly as well.

He held up the teapot, and asked, "Would you like some tea?"

She nodded minutely, then inched towards the table and took a seat opposite Kaiba's. He returned and set her favorite mug down in front of her, which she quickly grasped and brought up to her lips, drawing the tea into her mouth through her two cherry lips…

Shaking his head to rid himself of such foolishness (though the action was in vain), he sat down opposite with his own mug and drank, staring over the rim at the object of his affections.

She downed the entire mug, then said, "Kaiba, about earlier today… I- I don't know, exactly, why I –"

"It's ok," he interrupted.

"I – uh, what?"

"It's ok," he repeated. "It's understandable. You are taking care of a child, and have maternal instincts to help those in distress. You thought I was upset, so, naturally, you treated me in a compassionate way as any mother would have an inclination to do."

"Oh… ok, then," she replied a bit uneasily. "Uh… speaking of Rei, did you put her to sleep?"

"Your brother gave her a bath, then put her to sleep," he replied. "That was an hour ago. Then he left; he said he was going over to Yugi's house."

"Um… he _said_, or he _yelled_?" she asked teasingly. "I somehow don't see the two of you having a civil conversation about his evening plans."

"We have declared a truce," he explained. "We are trying to remain on cordial terms with each other."

"Hah, I'll believe THAT when I see it!" she retorted, smiling her brilliant smile at him.

Kaiba faltered, looking at that smile, and her amused face. She gazed back at him, and the two sat that way for a moment, staring at each other and the unreadable expressions on each other's faces. Then, suddenly, Serenity jumped up and babbled, "I really have to get to bed – I mean, I have to go to sleep because I have to get up early tomorrow. You know, school and all." For the second time that day, she scurried away from him, and Kaiba could tell that she was embarrassed.

"Good night," he said after her.

"Good night, Kaiba," she replied from down the hall.

Kaiba realized that after drinking several mugs of caffeinated tea, he wouldn't be falling asleep any time soon. He decided that he would finish his plan that night, and broach it to Serenity tomorrow. Well, he would broach it to her if the two could sit down for more than a few minutes without being embarrassed in each other's presence, that is.

An hour later, he stared down at the building blueprints covered in pencil marks, and smiled at his ingenuity. Even for him it was a remarkable plan, and it would be especially remarkable if he could successfully pull it off. He was confident in the technical aspect of the plan, but one obstacle remained… he had to convince Serenity to help him. Her role was crucial if he wanted to get in the building, and she needed to pull it off flawlessly if he wanted to regain his company.

Would she help him? It was not too long ago that she despised him, and was happy to see his fall from power. But more recently, she had allowed him to stay in her home, and had _hugged_ him when he looked sad. He had a pretty good feeling that her opinion of him was improving, and maybe she would be willing to help him regain his fortune, if not for him then at least for Rei.

Impulsively, he got up from the table and padded softly down the hall. He saw her bedroom door ajar, and pushed it open ever so slightly, peering into the moonlit chamber. He saw her lying on her side, with her blankets pulled up snugly under her chin. Her hair streamed out behind her, but a few strands framed her face, graced by an expression of tranquility. In this moment, Kaiba realized that _Serenity_ was a perfect name; she lay on her bed, utterly serene, with a poignant beauty far surpassing the physical.

Kaiba shut the door, feeling like an intruder into her personal realm. What right did he have to impose on her happiness, to ask her to risk herself on his behalf?

The voice in his mind piped up, offering startling encouragement. _You saw the way she looked at you earlier. You know she likes you, at least a little. You should use that knowledge and manipulate her into helping you_.

Kaiba wandered back into the kitchen. Manipulating Serenity into helping him was the _last_ thing he wanted to do. He held the girl in high esteem, and respected her. If she was going to assist him, he wanted it to be because she truly wanted to help him. That way, he would know that she liked him. It would mean that he had a chance with her.

He lay down on the couch. _I've come to terms with the fact that maybe I like her. What do I do now?_ He was up most of the night, pondering that question.

-

****

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V

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In general I like this (unusually long) chapter, but I think it has some serious flaws. I think I made Kaiba OOC, and I think I made his romantic revelation too sudden. The problem was, I realized that I should have been building up the romance for a while now, but I couldn't find any good opportunities.

At any rate, Kaiba now knows that he has a crush on Serenity, and so far we can guess that she has one on him too. (Yeah, I'm guessing too because I don't really know yet ;-) ).

I'm anticipating five more chapters, though depending on how much I put in each chapter, there could be more or fewer. There's also going to be an epilogue that will tie up things nicely.

I want to be done with this story by the end of summer. I'm hoping for some regular updates (with school out of the way!) and as long as I update about twice a month (which shouldn't be too hard) this story will be done before September. Gasp… I've never successfully finished a fanfic (sigh) so it should be a major accomplishment.

Reviews would be highly appreciated!


	15. c l a n d e s t i n e

Originally posted: 12/17/05

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Meh heh heh… _"If I can post two chapters a month, I'll be done by September."_ Obviously that didn't happen. Obviously I'm the slowest updater in the world. I thought I would get so much done this summer, but I completed a grand total of TWO chapters, one for each of my stories. What the heck did I _do_ all summer?

Well, the good news is that chapter 16 is all written, waiting to be proofread and edited. But since it's 90 percent complete, expect an update soon, within the next two weeks! I want to get it up before the new year: my holiday present to you all.

My loving gratitude to all the people who reviewed chapter 14! I was thrilled to see that some of the old crowd had returned after all that downtime. You all, old and new alike, make me feel so special!

Warning: Plotholes ahead, navigate with caution… Ugh, I planned this out years ago, and my grasp of plot was lacking. If I ever get around to overhauling this, I need to change it so it makes more sense. The long and short of it is, please take this chapter with a grain of salt.

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**V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V**

**island of red flowers**

**-V-**

by sir mocha

**V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V**

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**chapter 15: c l a n d e s t i n e**

Serenity woke to the sounds of happy giggling coming from the kitchen. She blinked and looked over at the crib in the corner of the room, containing nothing now but a pile of neatly folded blankets.

She then glanced over at her alarm and decided that it was WAY too early in the morning for anyone to be so cheerful. She had been up late working, faced two daunting tests during school today, and was expected to help host a fancy birthday party for some obnoxious teenager or another at the restaurant tonight. She wasn't looking forward to her day, and she grumbled at the thought of getting up twenty minutes earlier than necessary.

But the giggling continued from the kitchen, and she could smell an appetizing scent wafting from that area. Mouth watering, she decided to get up and see what was going on. At least she could have a big, tasty breakfast to start the dismal day.

She slouched into the kitchen/dining area and watched as Rei threw her toys on the floor while Kaiba bent down to retrieve them. Rei gurgled happily, satisfied to have the tall man at her beck and call. Serenity could relate.

"Good morning," she said, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What smells so good? After yesterday's breakfast performance, I'm guessing you didn't prepare a gourmet meal?"

Kaiba smiled, but to Serenity, the smile was a little off-kilter. It wasn't his usual arrogant smirk, and it wasn't the tender smile he reserved for Rei or Mokuba… it was somewhere between the two, but there was an additional quality that she couldn't name, and overall it had an odd effect. She didn't even realize that she had been staring until Kaiba held up a mug of aromatic tea and offered it to her.

"I didn't feel like eating sawdust cereal again. I went out and got breakfast from a kindly but senile old woman who owns a café a few blocks away. She gave me quite a discount; apparently, my recent negative bad press has done nothing to tarnish my reputation in her eyes."

Serenity shook her head. "Kaiba, please don't take advantage of old people. That's cruel."

Kaiba raised one dark-brown eyebrow. "You think a little old woman can survive on the income from a small café? I've arranged to give her some of the same medical and social security benefits Kaiba Corp employees receive. It's only fair that she gives me a discount on croissants."

He took a sip of coffee, and Serenity mimicked with her tea, feeling ashamed. Who knew Seto Kaiba, cold-hearted CEO, had a soft spot for the elderly? He managed to surprise her every day, and yet she still didn't come close to understanding him. How could someone be such a jerk and be so compassionate at the same time? Well, one thing was for sure: she would try to rein in her unfair assumptions.

As Serenity helped herself to the food, Kaiba read the news (**Criminal CEO: Where is he now?**) and continued retrieving Rei's toys. As he straightened up for the umpteenth time, he suddenly turned to Serenity, watching her intently. Her face heated slightly at the abrupt attention, and after swallowing a mouthful of egg she asked, "What?" tersely.

"What time are you getting home tonight?" asked Kaiba.

It was her turn to raise one eyebrow. "Late… probably after midnight. Why?"

He hesitated, then said seriously, "I have something to discuss with you, and it's important that we discuss it as soon as possible."

"What?" she pressed. Surely it couldn't be anything TOO outlandish… She quickly thought back to the previous night, and the way something had passed between the two of them, if only for a second. It had been weird, but not unpleasant… could it possibly be that Kaiba wanted to discuss, maybe, that there might be something going on between them…?

"Uh…" she stuttered, "well, I'll be pretty tired, but I guess, if you want to talk, that's fine."

He nodded once, then returned to the newspaper, signifying that the discussion was over. She sighed, then resumed eating. It was clear that Kaiba would divulge no more details at the moment, so she was going to be distracted and curious the rest of the day, wondering what could possibly be so important.

**-V-**

"Frustrated?" asked Kaiba lightly, having just witnessed Serenity's stormy entrance into the apartment.

"Thirteen-year-olds think they're SO mature!" she spat, yanking off her tie. "You wouldn't believe how many little couples I had to pry apart tonight. And the ones that weren't making out were destroying stuff! I swear, if the parents weren't there they would have just started swinging from the lamps and dancing on the tables. But worst of all, they're so RUDE!" She fumed, thinking that even the hefty tip wasn't worth all the agony.

Kaiba smiled wryly. "Weren't you thirteen during Battle City? Somehow you didn't manage to bring the whole airship crashing down around our ears."

"That's because I was an _intelligent_ thirteen-year-old!" she spat, kicking her shoes off and plunking down into a chair. "I don't suppose there's any tea, is there?"

"Sorry. There are some sodas," he said distastefully, scorning the unhealthy beverages.

"Hmm… caffeine rush at midnight… well, it's a Friday, it doesn't matter," she said, popping the top on an overly-sugary brand. She took a sip, which seemed to calm her frustration, then said, "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes," he replied, folding his hands on the table in front of him as he had at countless business meetings before. Serenity recognized at once the shift to serious topics and steeled herself for whatever might come next.

"Our present situation," he began, gesturing aroung the small apartment, "functions for the time being but is impractical for any long-range plans, and I refuse to freeload off you and your brother for much longer. Harrison committed heinous acts to steal my company from me, and I refuse to hand it over passively. I mean to take Kaiba Corp back.

"I have been working on a plan for a few days now. I completed it last night, and I feel that it is adequate to regain control of my company and bring Harrison to justice. When I designed my gaming technology, I added a special feature to ensure that, if the need arose, I would be able to shut down all the technology worldwide. I kept this secret from my developers so only I know that each Duel Disk, each video game console, each Capmon board, is equipped with a micro-receiver that picks up signals beamed from an orbiting satellite. These signals run the GPS system, but more importantly they regulate the functioning of my products. If the satellite stops beaming, the technology fails.

"Obviously I need to stop the satellite transmissions. If I can turn them off, you'll find that few days later, most of the gaming world will be without functioning hardware. People will be mad, and Harrison will not know how to fix the malfunctioning technology."

"Yeah, that'll hurt Kaiba Corp's profit margins, maybe," said Serenity skeptically, "but how do you plan to get the company back? People still believe you're an abusive, ruthless criminal."

Kaiba nodded. "After the debacle with Pegasus during Duelist Kingdom, the hidden room in my yard was no longer a secret, so I had to move my emergency control room. The main controls are in my office, but I realized the necessity of having a remote control station where I could access company and personal data, which includes controls to the satellite. I put it in Kaiba Land, hidden behind some of the attractions—"

"So just go to Kaiba Land," interrupted Serenity. "What's the big deal?"

Kaiba grimaced, reluctant to share details of his carelessness. "Unfortunately, when I visited Kaiba Land a few days ago I found the machines and attractions rearranged, unintentionally blocking the entrance to the room, a situation I had not anticipated." He huffed, then said, "I have no way to move the equipment, so the remote control station remains useless to me. I must get into my office to deactivate the satellite." He shook his head. "All the planning, all the foresight, and I still end up breaking into Kaiba Corp," he muttered.

"Well, that's great," started Serenity, "but why do you think your plan will get YOU your company back? Couldn't they just fix the technology and then go along on their merry way?"

Kaiba's trademark smirk flashed across his face. "It would be easy enough for them to find the little transponders in the Duel Disks, and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out about the satellite. But that satellite was my personal project, and no one else knows how to rewrite the programming I'll destroy. They'll take me back, or they'll lose their worldwide gaming network."

_Well, let it never be said the great Seto Kaiba is above using threats and blackmail_, though Serenity wryly, grinning at his audacity. "Kaiba, that's quite ambitious. And it seems complicated. Can I see your plans?"

"Will you help?" He glanced at her quizzically.

She returned the expression. "I'd like to know what I'm getting into first."

Kaiba placed the sheaf of plans on the table, and Serenity studied them intently. He was surprised she hadn't inquired further about his motives. Yes, breaking into his office was important to shut down the satellite… but he had a more important reason for getting to his computer.

Numerous hostile takeover attempts had made Kaiba cautious, bordering on paranoid, and he had taken to recording conversations he had with his various business partners, to be used in the event that one foolishly decided to double-cross him. Somewhere amid the multitude of business files was the recording in which Harrison, like so many arrogant villains before him, had gloated over a successful murder attempt.

Kaiba knew that if he could get that recording, if he could give it to the police, it would be adequate evidence for a large and scandalous trial of the CEO of N-Tech. As disgraced as Kaiba was, he still had connections in the police department and in the criminal justice system. He knew the best lawyers, and he had the dirt on the best lawyers; they would help him or he would tell things about them that would ensure they never had another client again. They would win the trial, and Harrison would get his just desserts, exactly as Kaiba had once promised.

"Hey, Kaiba," said Serenity, "this plan of yours…"

"Yes?" he said.

She grinned. "Sounds like fun. I always wanted to get in touch with my destructive side."

**-V-**

"Good morning, Mister Harrison!" chirped the very blonde, very ditzy secretary sitting at her desk outside the office.

"Good morning Cindy," replied Harrison. "Any new calls?" He flashed a winning smile at her, and with a grin she replied, "There was one, Mister H, but it was in Japanese and I didn't know what the man was saying…"

"Understandable," said Harrison amiably. He strolled casually into his office, while Cindy watched in wonder. As of late, her boss had been unusually nice. Ever since he had acquired Kaiba Corp — ever since she'd come to this funny land with these funny people! — he had been really forgiving and easygoing. A girl could get used to that kind of boss!

And thanks to Mister H's newfound relaxation, Cindy could take her job a little easier. She no longer had to hide her glossy glamour magazines under stacks of boring reports, and when she received personal overseas calls from her boyfriend, she was free to gab for an hour about absolutely nothing. Yes, life was good at N-Tech Japan.

At around three, while discussing movies with the new intern at the office, the phone rang. Cindy sighed, spoke a world of pardon to the intern, and picked up the phone. "Hello, N-Tech Japan, Mister Harrison's office. How can I help you?"

She had to jerk the phone away from her ear, because the person at the end was shouting too loudly, in rapid-fire Japanese.

"Um, one mo- no, I'm sorry, I don't under- one min- HEY, just SHUT UP ALREADY!" Cindy was getting annoyed; whoever the girl on the other end was, it was obvious that she was crazy! Even Cindy could tell discern the insane and rambling shouts.

The secretary switched to the other line, and Harrison picked up. "Uh, Mister H, there's a crazy person on line one! And I don't know what she's saying…"

Harrison hung up on his secretary — why had he brought her to Japan when she didn't know Japanese? — and switched to line one. Immediately he could hear angry shouts on the other end.

"…Your technology corrupts, I tell you, it corrupts! It's all a conspiracy, isn't it? You're creating another mindless race of clones, addicted to your holograms instead of drugs. Holographic drugs! You kill the kids, you make them boring and fat with their stupid dueling, and then when the time's right you'll begin broadcasting them your propaganda, your subliminal messages, your— "

"Madam!" interrupted Harrison irately, "N-Technologies is providing quality visual stimulus for popular recreational pastimes. I can assure you we have no ulterior—"

"Oh yea? Well if you won't listen to me on the phone, I'm coming down there to tell you to your fat face! It's time the corporations stay out of my business! I'm sick of you fat cats and your—"

Why bother reasoning with a madwoman? Harrison hung up. The dialogue didn't discourage him; as a high-powered businessman, he had to deal with crazy threats everyday.

He wasn't even phased when he got a phone call a few minutes later from his chief of security. "Sir... Mr. Harrison… there's some crazy girl outside who's threatening destruction of property! We've tried to escort her off the premises, but she's evading capture. She's causing a nuisance, sir, and we're requesting permission to use force to bring her down."

"Are you joking?" asked Harrison, no longer feeling jovial. "Can't you catch her without _shooting_ her? I'm paying you to be efficient, but I'm not paying you to plaster N-Tech across the papers with libelous articles and pictures of bodies!"

"But sir, she—"

"Just do your job, Officer," replied Harrison curtly. He hung up, but no sooner had he done so than his phone rang again. Frowning, he picked it up and heard his secretary, somewhat frazzled, say, "Mister H, we just got a call from building services; they say the gardens are on fire out front, and the dragon statue out front has spray-paint on it. And they said there's this crazy girl—"

He slammed the phone down, stalked over to the tall windows, and surveyed the chaos below. Indeed, the gardens were on fire — they didn't pose a huge threat, but they'd be expensive to replace — and the Blue Eyes was sporting some ugly red graffiti. Oh well, Harrison hated that statue anyway, so it would be a god excuse to get rid of it.

He peered closer at the grounds, and watched the action unfold. He could see a lone figure running ahead of a huge crowd of slow, bumbling security guards. The fools were all clumped together, following brainlessly when they could have been spreading out to corner the girl! He watched in consternation as the girl ran into the parking lot and withdrew… what was that, a pipe? A baseball bat?… and started attacking… HIS CAR? The guards were still waddling along, unable to prevent the thousands of dollars of dents, scrapes, and broken glass being inflicted on his expensive Italian import. Fools!

Perhaps the old adage was true: If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. He ran out of his office to put a stop the pandemonium.

**-V-**

As soon as Harrison disappeared into the elevator, Kaiba slipped out of the shadowed alcove beside the vending machines. He glanced down the hall, checking to see whether it was empty, then pulled back swiftly to avoid detection by the blonde secretary.

He had to admit, he hadn't anticipated the secretary, who could prove to be an annoying obstacle to getting into the office. However, Kaiba didn't think she would be too hard to get past. He had been listening to her for the last half-hour as she chatted away with her boyfriend. From what he had heard, she was a complete idiot. And after a few minutes, Kaiba had a solid plan for getting past her. He was about to call on skills he had never before channeled, skills he wasn't sure how to use. But if past encounters were any indication, he would be able to slip past the secretary with little effort, albeit mild irritation, on his part.

Seto Kaiba was going to _flirt _his way into that office.

Silently bemoaning his embarrassing situation, he emerged from behind the vending machine as nonchalantly as possible and attempted to walk languidly down the long stretch of hall. As he neared her desk, he realized that if she recognized him, she would immediately alert Harrison to his presence. He hoped she was as clueless as she seemed.

"Hello…" she said slowly, glancing up admiringly. "May I help you, sir?" She gave him a quick once-over, ignoring his incongruously casual clothes in favor of blatantly ogling his physique.

Kaiba smiled what he hoped was a seductive smile. "Good afternoon, Miss—" he checked her nameplate "—Miss Winthrop. Or may I call you Cindy?" His low, accented English dripped with sex appeal, irresistible to the young woman before him.

She blushed, and replied in low tones, "Cindy is fine. And, um, what's your name?"

"Joseph," replied Kaiba without thinking.

_Joseph? That does it. I'm getting away from Wheeler as SOON as I can._

"Well Joseph," she said teasingly, "what business do you have with Mister Harrison?"

"I have a delivery for him," replied Kaiba smoothly, holding up his duffel bag.

"Oh, you can leave that here with _me_," she replied, batting her eyelashes as if inviting Kaiba to stay with her as well.

He flashed her an apologetic grin. "It's of a sensitive nature, and I'd feel much more comfortable delivering it straight to his desk. Believe me, I'd much rather stay and talk to you—" he nearly retched "—but I'm on a tight schedule. Perhaps we could meet sometime for drinks?"

Her face flamed red, and she handed him one of her business cards. "That would be great! Please call me sometime." She was close to swooning, the silly thing, and Kaiba took the opportunity to slip into the office with a quiet, "Yes, that would be great."

His first impulse was to bang his head repeatedly against the nearest solid object. If he lived for eighty more years, he swore to himself that he would never again sink so low as to shamelessly flirt with insufferable females. He glanced down at the business card in his hand, moving to tear it into small pieces. But then he paused, and slipped it into his duffel. He could bestow it on one of Serenity's dateless loser friends later.

He glanced around the room. It was basically the same, save for one or two small differences. He'd have no trouble restoring it when he regained control of the company. He walked over to the large desk with the familiar computer and booted it up.

After successfully entering his username and password, he searched his files for the conversation. After that, it was easy; a few clicks allowed him to burn the conversation file onto a CD, then a few more clicks and another password enabled him to launch the Satellite-Fail routine. Simple as that.

Kaiba shut off the computer and exited the office. As he strode down the hall, he could hear snatches of the secretary's telephone conversation, in which she was informing her friends about her prospects with the "blue-eyed hottie" she had just met. Under Kaiba's triumphant relief, he felt the meanest twinge of guilt. How fair was it for him to manipulate her emotions like that? Oh well, he'd make it up to her. He was sure she'd appreciate meeting Wheeler, with his goofy looks and attitude.

Kaiba sniggered.

**-V-**

Serenity had always been good at gym, but this was ridiculous! She had been causing havoc and destruction for a good twenty minutes now, and though the guards were slow and out-of-shape, she was definitely beginning to feel winded. She had stopped shouting, and ceased flinging back at the guards her rude gestures. It had been tough work destroying that car, though Harrison's enraged-bull expression had been well worth it.

Serneity stopped for a rest, watching the bumbling security and the furious CEO of N-Tech chasing after her. Under the direction of their boss, the guards were finally using strategy to catch her. They were beginning to fan out in arcs, hoping to cut her off. She had to be careful not to be cornered by the—

At that moment her earpiece crackled to life, and she heard a gruff voice say, "I've completed my tasks. It's time to go."

"How… do I… get away?" she gasped, starting to run once more.

"Hang on…" There was a pause, and then came, "I'm watching someone in a garish outfit run from a badly-organized security force. I assume that person is you?"

"YES," she yelled, impatient with Kaiba's sarcasm.

"Coming up on your left is one of the employee lunch courtyards. Climb over the low wall and enter the building through the door in front of you. I'll be wai—"

The earpiece went suddenly silent, and though Serenity said his name a few times, there was no response. She hoped nothing bad had happened to Kaiba, and wondered if she should still follow his directions… but the guards were gaining on her, and the last thing she wanted was to be caught.

She scrambled over the low wall, whipped off her sunglasses and hat that just screamed of bank robberies and jewel heists, and tried to enter as calmly as possible through he door. She walked down the corridor, attempting to be inconspicuous despite her eccentric outfit - a costume for the diversion - and reflected on the plan. She knew that she had to find the custodial closet on the first floor… but Kaiba Corp was a big building, and though she was reluctant to admit it, she was completely lost.

Well, there were a bunch of doors around her, so it could be one of those, right? She walked down the hall but was unable to see any signs, like mops or buckets or sponges, that would clue her in as to the location of the closet.

She turned the corner and continued searching, to no avail. She couldn't keep this up; what if someone saw her, and realized that she wasn't a Kaiba Corp employee? Worse, what if they identified her as the psycho who had started the fires?

Her fears were intensified when the loudspeaker suddenly blared, "Attention employees, we have an intruder in the building. If anyone sees her, they are to apprehend her and report her to security. Suspect is a young woman, wearing brightly colored—"

And then, as if this were not enough, Serenity could hear footsteps echoing around the corner from her. Panicking, her fight-or-flight response kicked into gear, and she began to sprint away from the footsteps. But the whole building was alert, and very soon she would be caught. She had set fires, destroyed property, and smashed Harrison's car. She didn't even want to think about the punishment that awaited her.

**V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V**


	16. s h a r i n g

Originally posted: 12/27/05

I actually completed this chapter before chapter 15, and originally they were going to be one long, LONG chapter. But I split them up, so now you get two updates in a (relatively) short amount of time. This chapter is bound to be a bit strange, though… I wrote the second half many months ago, and just recently dusted it off and finished it. If you notice abrupt changes in mood and quality, I apologize in advance.

Thankies to everyone who reviewed chapter 15! Much love to you all.

Fluffiness abounds! Almost TOO much fluffiness… if anyone has constructive criticism they'd like to share, it'd be highly appreciated.

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**V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V**

**island of red flowers**

**-V-**

by sir mocha

**V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V**

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**chapter 16: s h a r i n g**

Serenity ran like mad down the long hall, casting around wildly for anywhere she could hide, anywhere she could evade her pursuers.

Suddenly she felt an iron grip on her shoulder, and she was pulled roughly backwards through a small door on her right. As she was pulled into the poorly-lit, foreboding storage room, she didn't know what to do: if she yelled for help, the security guards would find her and she would be in BIG trouble with Kaiba Corp and the law. But if she remained silent, she would be trapped in the small room with a mysterious captor, and that could turn out extremely badly as well.

A hand clamped over her mouth, and a voice whispered in her ear, "If you yell, you'll have half the security forces down on us, and all this plotting and scheming will have been for nothing."

"Kaiba!" she whispered heatedly, "God, did you _have_ to scare me like that?" She turned to face him, staring up at him in the dim light of a bare bulb.

"Fine," he said, rolling his eyes, "next time I'll just walk outside and yell, 'Hey, Serenity, I'm hiding in here!'"

"Well, I assume this is the janitor's closet I was supposed to be looking for. What happened with your walkie-talkie, by the way?"

"Dead battery," he muttered.

She nodded. "Well anyway, I know there's supposed to be some miraculous, devious secret exit out of this room, so would you like to clue me in as to how we're going to escape? They were chasing me in this direction, and it's not going to take them long to figure out where I went."

Kaiba smirked. "There's a utility ladder in the corner over there, which leads to the basement. We're going to be taking an alternate route out off the Kaiba Corp grounds." He strode over to the ladder, placed one foot on the nearest rung, and began to descend. Serenity quickly followed, but hesitated before stepping onto the ladder. It was dark below, and for all she knew, the ladder descended hundreds of feet down… a long fall if she was careless.

Kaiba paused, and looked up. "Scared?" he asked, inserting a hint of challenge into his tone.

"Of course not," replied Serenity hastily, refusing to cower before the arrogant CEO. She began to climb down the ladder, focusing on the cold iron bars and trying to ignore the pitch-black void around her. _Well, I guess if I fall, I'll fall on Kaiba and he'll cushion the blow._

But the climb down wasn't far, and mercifully soon, Serenity's foot scraped the concrete floor below. She stepped off the ladder onto the smooth, curved surface… and promptly lost her balance, falling lightly into the cold sewer water.

A flashlight clicked on a few feet above her head, and an amused CEO stared down at her. She was just about to splash a handful of dirty grey water on his elegant, shadowed features – _His FACE, Serenity, now is not the time to ogle!_ – when he reached down, and offered her a hand up.

Kaiba understood the dangers of invoking Serenity's ire, so he wisely kept all 'wet dog' comments to himself. Instead he glanced surreptitiously at her wet, clinging clothes, accentuating the fine curves of her body… the mentally slapped himself, tore his eyes away and tried to concentrate on the present situation.

"These, uh…" He was having a hard time concentrating. He may have been a cold-hearted, emotionless bastard far too often, but deep down, he still had to deal with all the normal human problems: fear, jealousy, insecurity… it seemed that now, finally, he was adding 'intense physical attraction to those of the opposite sex' to his list of annoyances. Fabulous.

But damn, she was good looking…

These impure thoughts were driven from his head as Serenity, impatient with Kaiba's lapse into speechlessness, hooked her foot around his ankle and jerked, sending him tumbling down into the cold, filthy water below. He sat for a moment, blinking in shock, then glared up at her. She giggled nervously, the sound incongruous in the echoing blackness. She hoped she hadn't gone too far; the last thing she needed was a livid CEO leaving her behind in this dark place.

Kaiba slowly got to his feet, looked down at Serenity through dripping bangs, and said, "I suppose I deserved that."

She smirked back. "You were staring and drooling. I didn't want you to embarrass yourself any further."

Bold. Kaiba liked that. And yet, he felt his cheeks tinge slightly at the though of getting caught staring. Thank god it was dark, and she couldn't see him very well. "Then I stand properly chastised, and I apologize. As I was saying, we are now in the sewer system that runs under Kaiba Corp and under much of Domino City. I have a map, and we should be able to follow the pipes away from the office building to a safe distance to emerge back out onto the surface."

He unzipped a pocket in his duffel – waterproof, thankfully – and pulled out a large map. He played the narrow flashlight beam over the paper, studying the network of pipes for the easiest way to escape the company's property. Serenity, hovering by his side, made suggestions, and after committing the route to memory, Kaiba re-folded the paper and replaced it in his bag, and the two started walking.

It was difficult for them to slosh their way through the sluggish, knee-high water, and since they only had one flashlight between the two of them, progress was slow and difficult. Kaiba could see that Serenity was tiring – unsurprising, considering the large chase on which she had led the bumbling security guards – but he knew that the girl was stubborn, and wouldn't admit that she was having difficulties. He announced that they should rest in this spot for a few minutes.

The two crouched in the vast sewer system, listening to the footsteps marching by overhead. Soon they dissipated, but Kaiba didn't want to run the risk of venturing out prematurely and getting caught.

"I think we should wait a while," he remarked quietly, and Serenity nodded. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the steady _drip drip drip_ of sewer water. Kaiba was just starting to zone out when he was brought back to the present by a multitude of water droplets spraying his face.

He looked over at Serenity, who had flung her head of wet hair around rather abruptly so she could talk to him. But before she opened her mouth, Kaiba, unable to refrain any longer, remarked, "Incredible. You're shaking the water off your head like a wet dog. I think you've been hanging out with your brother too much."

She actually hit him for that, but it was a playful hit and didn't hurt. Too much. "I _was_ going to ask you a meaningful question," she said, "but if you're going to be a jerk then we're just going to sit here silently until hell freezes over."

Kaiba wasn't averse to that, but his curiosity was overpowering his aloofness. "Fine. I won't say anything more about the M- your brother."

"Fine," she said, throwing her hair back over her shoulder and spraying him with more water. "Remember back, all those months ago, when you first told me about Rei? I was just wondering, why did the Egyptian woman choose you to be the father?"

Kaiba thought back to that fateful day he visited Mokuba in the hospital. He was surprised to find that that painful memory – pacing around like mad while Mokuba underwent emergency surgery – was less acute than it had been. It was like a certain numbness was settling in, and he didn't know whether to attribute it to the recent distracting developments in his life, or the fact that he was slowly coming to terms with Mokuba's death.

"It was the day of the incident in the park." Kaiba grimly held out his index finger and thumb, pantomiming a gunshot, and Serenity nodded seriously. "I was waiting for news and wandering aimlessly around the hospital, and stumbled into the maternity ward. I was just about to leave when she walked over and started talking to me. It was some crap about destiny and soul, so I wrote her off as a lunatic. I never seriously thought she would entrust the care of her child to someone like me."

"Well, for the most part, I think she made a good choice." There was a loud silence following Serenity's words. At first, Kaiba thought painfully of the recent problems he had had with Rei, and grimaced at the thought of letting both her and Serenity down. But this fleeting remorse was soon overpowered by a more powerful emotion: shock. Serenity had actually paid him a _compliment_. Even now, when he was getting to know her better, the two would more often than not trade casual insults as part of the daily conversation. It was different hearing praise, however small, issuing from her lips. And Kaiba realized that he liked it. He liked it so much that he found, to his horror and disgust, that his face was beginning to heat up again. If he didn't do something soon, he would be downright _blushing_ in front of Serenity.

How embarrassing. This was unacceptable.

He quickly turned away, and said hurriedly, "Why did she choose YOU?"

Behind her curtain of sopping hair, Serenity grinned. She could tell that her comment had made Kaiba lose his composure, if only for a moment. But it felt kind of… _fun_… to have that power over the stoic young man. But then her grin faded as she remembered the incident, and the shame and guilt she felt later as a result.

"I was at the hospital too, getting my eyes checked. I have to go in every few months, to make sure they're healthy… but anyway, I ran into the Egyptian woman – literally – and she told me some stuff too, about how nice I was. Then…" Serenity gulped, "…she asked me if I would be there for her when it came time to delivering the baby. I said yes, because she seemed so alone and scared."

She bit her lip. "But when she actually went into labor, I wasn't there. I – I was off skiing, and I couldn't help her like I said I would. I don't know why she entrusted me with Rei, I had already failed to keep my word…"

Kaiba looked back at her, and could detect the sorrow in her tone and on her face. "It wasn't your fault, you know. She was an eccentric woman, and you had no responsibility to be with her when she was having her baby."

"I know," said Serenity, sighing. "But she was all alone, and going through a really tough time. She probably could have used a friendly face."

"Well whether you were there or not, I think she knows you meant well. And you've worked hard to take good care of Rei, so you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Thank you Kaiba," she said, giving him a funny look. "Even if you're a bastard now and then, you always know just what to say." She hesitated a moment, then leaned over and gave him a shy kiss on the cheek.

The sensation of her warm lips on his already-heated skin was like a catalyst for his emotions. He brought his head around and looked into her eyes, only a few inches from his. He saw unusual, new, and powerful emotions in her light-brown gaze, and though it was dim in the underground tunnel, he could see himself reflected in her eyes, the image distorted to almost the point of unrecognition. _Ironic_, he thought briefly, before bending down and capturing her beautiful lips with his own.

It was a tentative, inexperienced kiss that contained all the emotional power the two could muster. Despite all their arguments and fights, despite their recent awkwardness around each other, and despite the unlikely conditions – hiding from police in the middle of a dim, damp sewer – it was the most thrilling thing either of them had ever experienced. In the instant their lips made contact, they both knew, for the first time, what was meant by 'true love.'

Serenity was the first to break the kiss. She pulled away from Kaiba, her face scarlet from embarrassment. "I didn't… we really… I mean…"

Kaiba frowned, his own face tinged from excitement. "You didn't want me to kiss you?" he asked, suddenly fearing what she would say. The stoic CEO would never admit it out loud, but he had felt a powerful connection to the girl, and he had sworn she felt it too, from the way she kissed back so delicately. But what if he was imagining things? What if he was being a fool, as his stepfather had warned him against so many times? Crushes, romance… it disillusioned so many, a weakness that could cripple even the strongest. Had he fallen victim to its trap?

"No, no, it's not that," said Serenity, biting her lip, and Kaiba nearly breathed an audible sigh of relief. "It's just… well, it's all so, uh, _strange_ and I didn't really expect that, um…" She looked up at him, searching for a sign of comprehension in his deep blue eyes.

"Just because it's strange," he said quietly, "doesn't mean it can't be nice." And with that, he leaned down again and kissed her. She wrapped her hands around his neck, and he in turn wrapped his around her lower back. They remained that way for what seemed an all-too-short time for both, until Kaiba broke away and looked to the side.

"I thought I heard an echo," he muttered, his heart still moving impossibly fast. "They're going to search down here sooner or later, and we need to be out of here before they find us."

"Yeah… yeah, you're right," agreed Serenity, looking disappointed that their time alone was interrupted by the arrival of the armed law enforcement. Kaiba paused for a moment, glancing at the girl whose beauty radiated through the mask of grime and sewer water she had acquired. He gently brought a hand to her face, and brushed her dripping hair back behind her ear.

Her eyes sparkled for a moment, before she said, "I really don't mean to interrupt, but we really SHOULD be moving." She hopped off the ledge and into the knee-high water. Kaiba shouldered his duffel and followed suit, and the two began making their way through the meandering tunnels, turning right or left according to what the map said, until they stood at last under a manhole cover that would hopefully emerge a block from the apartment.

Kaiba gestured to the ladder. "Ladies first," he said courteously. He had been brought up with a set of polished and perfected manners… that, and he figured the view following Serenity up would be well worth it.

If she let onto his less-than-innocent plan, she didn't say anything. She climbed quickly up the ladder, Kaiba following close behind. At the top, it was a moment's effort for her to lift the cheaply-made manhole cover and emerge into the street above. With a last glance at her cute posterior, Kaiba followed, replacing the metal disk and standing next to her on the quiet, deserted street.

"Kai- Seto?" she said sweetly, and he grinned at the new and welcome familiarity.

"Yes?" he replied, blushing again.

"…You stink."

He blinked, and said smartly, "What?"

"You stink," she said in that same sweet tone. "You smell like sewer water and mold and dead rats and…"

He raised one aristocratic brow. "Thank you for that opinion," he said levelly, and then in a completely un-Kaibalike move, swooped forward and picked her up, throwing her over one shoulder. He began to walk like this towards the apartment, while she giggled and sneaked a quick glance at HIS back-end.

"What was that for?" she asked. "You're supposed to be serious and boring! I don't think I've ever seen the playful side of Seto Kaiba before."

"In a few days I will regain my company and my assets," he said, continuing with his quick stride. "I believe I have reason to celebrate. Besides, I only have a few moments more to work out my post-successful-break-in rush of adrenaline before I have to go back into your apartment and act like a bastard towards your brother." As if to prove his point, he suddenly swung in a big circle, and Serenity shrieked from surprise.

_Oh my god,_ she thought, as Kaiba once more headed towards the apartment, humming tunelessly, _he's giddy. What kind of monster have I created?_ She grinned broadly.

**V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V**


End file.
